The Rogue, The Rat, The Demon, and the Cat
by wakingsnowwhite
Summary: Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... she's back! The spirit of love has come to Bayville to bring together Rogue and Remy and Kurt and Kitty, and she's taking no prisoners! Kurtty/Romy
1. Prologue: A Few Birds With One Stone

Prologue: A Few Birds with One Stone

"Is everyone still set for Potluck Friday?" Felix asked Norman. The two were sitting in an outdoor café in Paris drinking espresso. This was a custom that they had held on to for about the last five hundred years: get together for coffee on Sundays.

"I believe so, but I think Rhonda mentioned she might be a little late. She claims that there is a family in Tuscan that will need guidance as they are going to lose a loved one to cancer on Friday, but I think she's trying to skip dinner in order to go to the Paul Simon concert. Like that time with the Winter Solstice of '66?" Norman replied.

"That time it was Don McLean though, correct?"

"The concert has changed, the woman though has not. I mean she's almost two thousand and seventy-nine years old, you'd think she would grow up and get her priorities straight by now-" Norman stopped short when he noticed that his companion was no longer listening. Felix seemed to be looking at the sidewalk as though he were looking for someone. Norman pushed his Woody Allan-esque glasses back up the length of his nose and asked, "Are you expecting somebody?"

"Hmmm?" Felix turned his attention back to his friend. "Oh forgive me, Norman. I asked Matilda to join us today."

"Oh really?" Norman said with a smile; he brightened almost instantly. His change in attitude did not surprise Felix; everyone on the Council of Higher Powers adored Matilda. "Damn, I haven't had a chance to get a straightforward conversation with her since we took that vacation to Lisbon in '97. What's the occasion?"

"Oh it's not to play catch-up. I'm afraid it's a business affair. A job just landed on her desk that I think she may be able to help me in a case that's been plaguing me since the beginning of the month. It's about the recent activity of-" Felix suddenly turned his head back to the sidewalk. He smiled at a child that was walking steadily towards them. She was a little girl that had dark bluntly cut hair that barely grazed her jaw and thick bangs covering her forehead. She wore a small white dress that flapped back and forth in the wind. She walked around the fence of the café and spoke to the host briefly and pointed at Felix and Norman's table. She pulled up a chair and shook both of their hands firmly.

"Bonjour mes amis. Va-t-il comment l'espresso?" She asked in a perfect French dialect.

"It is very good Matilda. Will you be indulging in a cup yourself?" Felix asked, raising his glass to her.

"Non, I believe monsieur, that you asked me to come under the impression that we would be talking business." Matilda pulled out an antique pocket watch that she had stashed somewhere on her being and checked the time. "Besides that, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm due in Bayville in about an hour."

"Actually, that is partly the reason I asked you here. You are to bring together a pair of soul mates in Bayville soon, yes?" Felix asked.

"Actually, it's a double whammy. There are two pairs of soul mates that need to be brought together in Bayville." Felix and Norman both looked surprised. "I know, but the amazing thing is this:" she leaned forward on the table slightly, "the four of them live in the same house."

"No?" Felix asked incredulously.

"Incredible. How can four people, living under the same roof no less, not know that they are meant to be together?" Norman asked shaking his head.

"Well, if my background research on them is correct (and it always is), then the four of them tend to be very stubborn." Felix and Norman nodded in understanding. "Oh, I've seen this kind of case a million times; they've been dancing around the prospect of getting together for so long that they are now convinced it will never happen. That's why the Higher Powers elected to have me lend my expertise in the matter. They're about to deal with some hardships that will become more bearable if they're together."

"Who are these four that you speak of?" Felix asked, interlacing his fingers on the wrought iron table.

"Hmm." Matilda pulled out of thin air a sleek, black, leather brief case and set it on their table, briefly jingling their cups. After entering the combination and opening the case, she pulled out a creamed colored folder. Opening the folder revealed papers and countless pictures all detailing the same four people. "Here we are. I have to make Katherine Pryde and Kurt Wagner realize their true love for another." She showed them a picture that captured a very pretty brunette girl watching over what seemed to be an unconscious blue demon. She pulled out another picture that showed an incredibly handsome man with red and black eyes giving a card to a pale girl with white streaks in her hair. "And do the same for Anna Marie Darkholme and Remy LeBeau."

"Wait a moment, I recognize them: these people are X-Men!" Norman said, studying the pictures at a closer angle.

"Yes, that's actually why I'm interested in this particular case. These youths have a knack for saving the world." Felix said, in a very business man manner.

"I know; they helped us out in more ways than one during that whole Apocalypse ordeal." Matilda said, rolling her eyes at one of her least favorite memories.

"Well, I've come across a case that may in fact be related to yours. It seems that Hirane the Demon Tree has grown once more." Felix said ominously.

"What! I thought Hirane got thrashed by a Vampire Slayer during the last Chinese Imperial Dynasty?" Matilda said, surprised.

"If you recall, we were also under the impression that Hirane was destroyed during the Crusades but he still grew back after that. No, he has indeed been reborn." Felix said, looking distant and worried.

"What is the bastard up to this time?" Norman asked casually, sipping his drink.

"Hirane is, once again, blossoming human fruit from his branches and this time he has a young man named Kale harvesting and eating them."

"Another lost soul who can't tell the difference between good and evil." Norman said, shaking his head disgustedly.

"Forgive my lack of respect with my next question, but how is an ancient Asian demonic spirit in the form of a tree related to my case in Bayville?" Matilda arched an eyebrow.

"It's not disrespectful, it's actually quite valid. Coincidentally enough, Hirane has chosen an acreage of woods north of Bayville to sprout this time." Felix took another sip of espresso.

"Oh, I see. And since you know that I am about to go work on some superheroes that happen to be in the area, you figure I can somehow have them take care of the matter." Matilda said, nodding her head and smiling to herself.

"There are several crises happening in Africa at this time that require my first hand attention; I figure a few super powered youngsters can handle something like Hirane."

"But that forest is some miles north of where Matilda is going. It's not like these kids would simply stumble onto a problem like this." Norman said honestly.

"I realize that. I was hoping that maybe Matilda would be able to guide them there so that they could stumble onto a problem like this."

"Hmmm." Matilda looked deep in thought as she stroked an invisible beard slowly. "Would this little quest be dangerous?"

"Highly."

"Could it be considered a life or death mission?"

"Oh, most certainly."

"Perfect!" Matilda said so brightly that it elicited curious stares from both men. "Highly dangerous life or death situations always tend to bring people closer together. This little side job could, in fact, aid me in my main goal."

"So you'll do it?" Felix asked, hopefully.

Matilda shrugged her shoulders. "Why not? It's been awhile since I've seen a good 'saving the day'. Could be fun." Matilda glanced at her watch again. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid that I must take my leave of you now." Matilda gathered her things and then stood from her seat.

"Oh Matilda, are you still coming to Potluck Friday?" Norman asked.

Matilda hissed as though she had forgotten something. "Oh, I'm not sure now. Rhonda kind of asked me to go to the Paul Simon concert with her, so I'll have to see. Talk to you both soon!" Matilda seemed to vanish into thin air; surprisingly, none of the café patrons seemed to notice.

Norman looked at Felix with a pained expression on his face. "Is everyone invited to this concert except me?"


	2. Chapter One: Somebody to Love

Chapter One: Somebody to Love

Matilda curiously studied her surroundings. This place was simply beautiful: the mansion was huge and gorgeous, the grounds surrounding it were lush and green and had several lovely secret spots, and it was lazy June. How could people not fall in love in a place like this? Shaking her head with a disgusted sigh, she walked through the front doors of the mansion. "Time to go to work." She said to herself.

Entering the main hall, Matilda turned her head left and right and caught a glimpse at a mirror hanging on the wall. Presently she could only be heard currently in subconscious thought, and as a result she cast no reflection. She grumbled and pulled out a heart shaped silver pocket mirror and looked at her own face. "Damn, I'm an adorable little kid. Not bad for almost seven thousand years old." She replaced the mirror and headed straight down the hall. She pulled out her case file again, and stared at a page that she randomly opened up to; remarkably, it was just the page she was looking for. "Subject number one tends to spend his time flirting with girls, going to bars, stealing stuff, playing pool, poker, or anything else that requires gambling and/or chance, shuffling his cards, showing off, and… oh, this is probably where he is." She looked inside a doorway and saw just the person she was looking for: Remy LeBeau was on his back in the garage. He was beneath a beautiful motorcycle and tinkering away on it. Matilda carefully walked beside his visible lower half and studied him up close.

"Wow, totally built body. I can see why he's so popular with the ladies. He's masculine yet he's not big hulking steroid freak." She said, more to herself. From what she could see of him, he was wearing an old pair of form fitting blue jeans and a dirty white short sleeve shirt; his body looked positively yummy. She crouched down beside him and waited. She didn't have to wait long, as soon he pulled out from under the bike and sat up straight.

Remy wiped some sweat off of his brow with his arm and then took a sip from the bottle of beer that he had resting beside him. "His face is almost too handsome. And his eyes are just so cool. They're dark and they kind of give him this aura of mystery and danger." Matilda's internal monologue was interrupted by the loud banging of the door from the house swinging open. She looked up and saw Scott Summers looking angrily at the man sipping the beer next to her. "Oh, it's him."

"LeBeau, you have five minutes to haul your ass out of here before I tell Logan that you've been drinking on campus." Scott put his hands on his hips indignantly.

"Go right ahead. And while you're at it, ask him if he still want to go wit' Remy to Josie's Bar after dinner." Remy took a long sip of his brew, not because he was thirsty but because he wanted to piss Scott off some more. "I'm twenty one homme. It's perfectly legal for dis Cajun to help himself to a cold one." Neither of the men took notice of the subconscious spirit in the form of a child that was standing between them and watching the whole exchange… mostly because no one can see her.

"He's got a roguish/bad boy/'damn the man' personality, a Cajun accent (which is unique in this area), he's charismatic, and he can speak French in that sexy voice of his. This guy is every woman's dream man." Matilda said, smiling at Remy.

"Whatever. I need to work on my car and there's no way that I'm going to do anything in the same room as you. So get lost." Matilda scowled up at Scott.

"Now this guy is a different story. I've never liked him; he's an excellent leader, but he's just too arrogant, boring, and straight-and-narrow for my taste. I don't need to worry about him; he and his soul mate have already found each other, and she's just as arrogant, boring, and straight-and-narrow as he is." Matilda had an amused smile on her face. "They should be perfectly happy together."

Remy stood and it became evident that he towered over Scott (Matilda looked happy at the expression on Scott's face that suggested he was briefly scared). "Done wit what I was doin' anyway." And Remy gracefully strode out of the garage with Matilda close behind him. She watched him enter the kitchen and pull another beer out of the refrigerator. He sat by the island of the kitchen and began to drink from his bottle silently.

Matilda walked up behind and pushed her little fingers through the temples in his head; they went through intangibly and he didn't even feel a thing. Matilda smiled and said to herself, "He's thinking about her. He thinks about her whenever he's not preoccupied with something, during moments like this. That means he's thought about her a lot. He thinks she's beautiful, but he's trying to convince himself that she's just another belle fille. He's confused by the things that he feels for her. He thinks that he shouldn't feel that way about a girl he can't even touch." Matilda raised her eyebrows in surprise. "But that doesn't scare him… not at all! He doesn't care that she could kill him with just a touch. He wants to know what's beneath the strong front that she puts on for the world." Matilda smiled a little. "He thinks she's pretty and brave and smart, and he feels admiration for her, and a little bit of sadness, and something that he can't quite identify. It's a seed; a seed, that I am going to water and watch grow." She removed herself from his thoughts.

"He doesn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment. I should go check on the other subjects." Matilda walked out of the kitchen (Remy never even looked in her direction) and stood in the hall, looking at her file again. "Subject number two mostly spends her time by herself. She reads vampire novels, writes poetry, draws whenever she gets an idea, listens to angry Goth music, and broods in her room with the lights turned off. She does mostly everything by herself, including her workouts, which allow her to take her aggression out on inanimate objects instead of other people. These workouts include kickboxing and… oh, that's what she'll be doing." Matilda closed the file and pranced out the back of the mansion to the outdoor pool area. She stood by the door and waited.

Before long, the girl known as Rogue strutted out in a form fitting, black, one-piece bathing suit with a large towel draped over her shoulder. "Wow, she's beautiful. The fact that she's a tragic heroine who still perseveres makes her more appealing. I can definitely see why he's into her." Rogue draped her towel over a lounge chair and then dipped one toe into the water. She sat down and allowed her legs to be submersed up to the knees. She looked distant as she gently kicked out her legs beneath the water. Matilda crouched down beside her and studied her profile up close. "She really ought to drop the make up, even though I totally see the purpose for her wearing it." Matilda looked around and took note of the presence of no one. "She must come work out when she knows no one will be here, so that she won't risk contact with people."

Matilda walked around to the back of Rogue and stuck her tiny fingers through the temples of Rogue's head. For the first time in a long time, Matilda gasped at the thoughts inside the girls head. "My God… she's so lonely. And all that love that's inside of her… she can't show it to anybody. She knows that the people here love her, but she can't show them her love in return so she makes herself distant. So she won't hurt anyone and no one will hurt her. She doesn't even trust them enough to let them know her real name. She cries almost everyday, but no one can catch her tears. She knows that they're all afraid of her… except one guy." Matilda smiled mischievously. "She's just as confused as he is. She doesn't want to admit that she likes this guy. She tries to deny her feelings about him to her friends and to him by being mean and not kindly receiving his advances. She's even taken to calling him Swamp Rat. But she dreams about him; oh, they're very naughty dreams too. She would love it if he could be the one who could touch her. My God, this girl is almost as horny as a teenage boy. That's a rare case in females." Matilda smiled genuinely at Rogue as she pulled her fingers out of her mind. There was a single tear running down Rogue's pale cheek. Matilda felt an urge in her heart and did not ignore it; she wrapped her short arms around Rogue's upper body and hugged her from behind. "Don't worry Anna Marie. I'll make sure you get some happiness soon." As soon as Matilda released Rogue, Rogue wiped the tear off before it reached her jaw and then dove into the water to begin her laps.

Matilda sighed; she was a little more determined than she was before and could already tell that she was going to take a special interest in this case. She walked back into the mansion and pulled out her folder again. "Moving on: Subject number three is very studious and feminine, loves small furry animals, the color pink, pop and country music, dancing in general, and is a vegetarian. Subject number three is the roommate to subject number two, and best friend to subject number four." Matilda closed the folder and thought aloud, "Now where could she be? Hmm… well, since Rogue is out here it may be safe to assume that Kitty Kat is up in her-"

Matilda made her way back to the hall and up the large stair case. She turned left and stopped in front of a door that had a glittery star shaped sign with stickers all over it that read "Kitty" in big cursive hot pink writing and beneath it was a piece of college ruled paper with a piece of scotch tape holding it there that just read "Rogue" in plain black sloppy print. "I think it's safe to say that I've found their room."

Matilda appeared inside the girls' bedroom and furrowed her brow at her new surroundings. If she did not know any better, she would say that someone with bi-polar disorder, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or even Two-Face lived in this room; not two teenage girls. One half of the room looked like the land of cupcakes, fairies, unicorns, and sunshine. Posters dedicated to Sara Evans, Terri Clark, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Gretchen Wilson, Faith Hill, and Trisha Yearwood lined the walls, joined by images of Scooby Doo, Spongebob Squarepants, Hello Kitty, and Sailor Moon. There stood one lone poster advertising _The Princess Bride _movie. The billowy white curtains were decorated with multi-colored, glittered filled, shiny, plastic flower and butterfly clips. On the four-poster bed were bed sheets that resembled clouds in blue sky, a menagerie of stuffed animals, and several purple and pink fluffy pillows of various shapes and sizes. To complete the whole picture, on the nightstand stood a Hello Kitty clock-radio. But when Matilda turned her head to right slightly… she had gone from eternal Spring to forever Halloween. The walls were covered in posters… of the genres rock, hard rock, metal, symphonic metal, and freak metal. Bands ranging from Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, Nine Inch Nails, Rasputina, Bif Naked, The Cure, and The Seven Year Bitch were all honored on the right side of the wall. Along with the music posters were movie posters displaying films like _The Crow_, _Donnie Darko_, _Labyrinth_, and _Evil Dead_. In addition to all this, there was a cloth wall scroll showing Bettie Page in all her red devil dominatrix glory. The simple white curtains were decorated with little black plastic bats and spiders, obviously purchased during the peak season of Halloween. On her bed, was a massive Gir comforter. There were no stuffed animals in sight, but there were several worn looking books that were in their place on the nightstand, including _Dracula_, _Frankenstein_, _The Turn of the Screw_, _Doctor Faustus,_ and _The Monk_. There was a Nightmare Before Christmas black alarm clock on top to complete the very Hot Topic side of the bedroom. Matilda looked back and forth between the two sides of the room several times very puzzled like before saying, "… so this is what would happen if Britney Spears and Fairuza Balk shared a room."

Kitty was sitting on her bed writing an email to her parents on her laptop. Matilda sat at the foot of her bed and watched Kitty concentrate on telling her parents her current thoughts. "She's very pretty. She and Rogue are both different types of beauties though so there's really no need to make any kind of comparison. She has incredibly shiny hair; it's a shame she doesn't wear it down more often. Her eyes are nice too; you don't often see them get that blue." Matilda cocked her head to the side. "She's a good embodiment of the pretty girl next door. A classic yet unique kind of prettiness. You can get that sense just from her name; Katherine is a very common name, but instead of just calling her Katie or something, she chooses to be called Kitty. She's the type of girl men fall for and love from afar. Just like our situation with her and Mr. Wagner. Speaking of which, let's find out what she thinks of him."

Matilda slid up beside Kitty who did not cease her rapid fire typing and slid her fingers into her thoughts. "Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. Not surprising. She thinks that she is the one in love with her best friend who does not love her back. Typical. She thinks that she doesn't deserve a great guy like Kurt after so many hits and misses with the men in her life, whom I might add couldn't have been more wrong for her." Matilda smiled. "And wouldn't you know it, Kitty thinks Kurt is a handsome, sexy stud (I quote that from her by the way). She loves his tail the best and often fantasizes about it. But the main reason she will not tell him how she feels is mostly due to the fact that she's scared. She's scared of losing her friend if things go wrong, of him not loving her in return, or of truly being loved by someone else. Bottom line is she's terrified." Matilda removed her fingers.

After glancing at her computer screen, Matilda decided that Kitty was not going anywhere for a while so it was safe for her to look in on her last subject. Matilda rose from the bed and walked out of the room.

Once more, she studied the contents of the folder. "Subject number four loves to eat food, perform gymnastics and death defying stunts, have fun, watch movies, his favorite band is the Beatles, and is the best friend to subject number three. His dislikes include being chased through the streets by an angry mob with pitchforks and torches." Matilda walked back downstairs and looked out a large window in the wall. "There you are you handsome little demon."

Kurt Wagner was sitting in his favorite tree outside the mansion reading a copy of _Grendel_ on loan from Doctor McCoy. Matilda was in the branch just above him and smiled; his bookmark was a lovely picture of Kitty in a white dress under a cherry blossom tree. It was difficult to ignore a few periodic glances that he made at a curtained window that she happened to know was Kitty's room. "He's got it bad." She said to herself; she didn't even need to get inside his thoughts to be able to tell that. "But just for the hell of it, let's see what he's thinking."

Matilda leaned forward to the point where she was laying on her stomach on the branch and she pressed her fingers into Kurt's head. "Poor guy." She said with a frown. "He so convinced that no woman could ever love him because of his appearance, especially Kitty! If only he knew what I knew." She delved a little deeper. "My God… he is so madly in love with her. He would readily die or kill for her. He's sad when she's sad, and he's happy when she's happy. He's so sweet, what a great guy! Of course they both have to be oblivious to how each other feels when they spend almost every waking moment together, except for this one. He would make any woman happy, but there's only one that he really wants." Matilda straightened up and dropped from the tree. "But of course, this is why I'm here. To make sure these four people get their happy endings." Matilda quickly cracked her knuckles and said, "Okay. Let's make some magic."

"But the question is always 'where do I start?'" Matilda said to herself, standing in the entrance hall of the mansion again. "But this is why I'm a professional! I am certainly no amateur and this is not just some mundane matchmaking. This is soul mate joining, and it's much more meaningful. I have a lot to work with, and none of it's really anything I haven't seen before, but the hard part is beginning somewhere, always has been, always will be." Matilda stroked her invisible chin beard again with her brows furred together. She finally sighed and said, "Well typically, men tend to fall faster than women do. So logically that would be the place to start."

Since she was already inside, Matilda decided she would start with Remy. She peaked her small, adorable head inside the kitchen and saw Remy still sitting at the island. He looked preoccupied with spinning a now empty beer bottle in a circle on the counter. She saw the remnants of the beer label next to his elbow, except they were all singed and charred in pieces of confetti.

Matilda bounced casually into the kitchen and looked out the huge window directly behind Remy. "Wow, what a gorgeous day!"

Remy turned his head slowly and looked out the window, the beer bottle now lay forgotten on the counter. "The sun is shining, the air is not too hot, and I bet even little birds are chirping." Remy allowed a smirk to form on his mouth ("So sexy! Matilda said to herself). "It would be criminal to waste all this time in this confining old house." Matilda asked turning to look at him; it made no difference to Remy, as all Matilda was was a voice in the back of his head. "Why not go outside? Even better, see what's going on at the pool. This would be a perfect time to go for a swim." Remy squinted his demon eyes as though he was thinking and then without a word he stood and left the kitchen. "Damn, that guy's got a nice ass. Now that I've nicely set up the Rogue and the Rat, I need to work on the Demon and the Cat."

Matilda appeared in Kitty's room again just as the girl was closing her laptop. "It's too quiet in here, isn't it?" Kitty looked around the room from her bed as though there was something missing. "How about listening to some music?" Kitty stood and walked to her CD player that was placed her on her dresser. Matilda bounded over there and watched as Kitty filed through her CD collection. Matilda brightened when she saw one that would be perfect for the occasion. "The Ella Enchanted soundtrack is always fun." Kitty studied the CD case that she had stopped on before placing the CD into her stereo. A very poppy remake of "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" began to play, but Matilda quickly said. "Why don't you listen to number nine? That one's much better than this song." Without much thinking, Kitty skipped the CD forward to number nine. Anne Hathaway's surprisingly pleasant vocals filled the room.

Kitty smiled; she had to admit she loved this song.

_Can anybody_

_Find me _

_Somebody to_

_Love?_

"Oh what a lovely way to start a song. Doesn't this one make you feel like dancing?" Kitty smiled but it was bittersweet. "When was the last time you danced? I mean really danced. Not any of this clubbing, MTV dancing, like artfully dancing. Were you thirteen or fourteen?" Kitty looked as though she were trying hard to remember. "You were really good for a while. And this song was made for the kind of dancing you really love." Matilda stepped closer to Kitty and practically whispered in her ear. "Why don't you dance now? No one's here to make fun of you, and this is a really great song."

Without saying a word, Kitty closed her eyes and raised her arms above her head in a proper ballet stance. And then she began: swirling, twirling around the room, unconsciously phasing through any objects that may have gotten in her path, doing whatever move her body felt was appropriate with the rhythm of the song. Matilda smiled at how graceful she was. "She still is a great dancer. It's too bad she doesn't do it anymore. Now to make someone else feel that way."

Matilda instantly appeared in the tree again, right next to Kurt's ear. "Do you hear something?" Kurt's pointy ear instantly twitched as it took in a slow melody coming from somewhere. It sounded like a girl with a soothing voice singing an old Queen song. He looked up from his book to try and determine the source of the music. He looked around until his eyes settled on the window that he had so often looked at when no one was looking. "What could Kitty be doing with music that loud?" She said, trying to sound as puzzled as he felt. "It wouldn't hurt to find out now, would it?"

Kurt bamfed without another word and found himself outside of Kitty's room. All he could hear was the music blasting from her stereo. He opened the door just a crack and his eyes widened to the size of grape fruits. Kitty was dancing; he had never seen Kitty dance like this before and it was the most remarkable, beautiful, amazing thing that Kurt ever witnessed. Matilda appeared beside him. "My God… have you ever seen anything so wonderful?" She asked. Kurt was in a haze; he couldn't remove his head from the door and he couldn't take his eyes off of Kitty. Kitty was completely into the song, and didn't even glance in Kurt's direction. Matilda looked between the two teens and felt that she had set them up quite nicely for the time being, and would check in on them again later.

"Time to see what the Cajun and the Belle are up to." Matilda appeared instantly at Remy's side and walked beside him and he strode towards the pool area. "Take your time, big guy, you're in no rush." She appeared back at the pool and saw that Rogue was still doing her laps. "Hmm. I better time this just right." Matilda snapped her fingers and was instantly wearing a purple one piece bathing suit, a white swim cap, little yellow floaters on her arms, a small pair of black goggles over her eyes, and a set of nose plugs firmly set in her nose. "Safety first, I always say." She disappeared and reappeared again, this time swimming right alongside of Rogue, who of course took no notice of her. "Wow, aren't you getting a little tired?" Rogue flexed her arms in realization that they were feeling a little sore. "I'd say about one more lap should put you in pretty good shape for the day." Matilda vanished and appeared again next to Remy, wearing her little white dress again and completely dry.

Remy was almost at the pool and Matilda smiled in gleeful anticipation about the sight that was waiting for him. Remy finally stepped out onto the pool deck only to be greeted with something more wonderful than all the jewels in the world. There was Rogue, climbing up the pool ladder, dripping wet, bathing suit clinging to all the right places, and the cool air hitting her so suddenly was doing some remarkable things to certain body parts. "Surely she must be a goddess who walks among mortals for some unknown reason." Matilda attempted to lean in close to Remy's ear but was unsuccessful because of his height. "Worship her."

Rogue didn't even see Remy until she (very sexily) brushed the wet strands of her hair from her eyes. When she did see him, she nearly fell back in the pool. "Swamp Rat, yah think that yah can let someone know when yah're standin' two feet away from 'em. Ah'd prefer not ta have a heart attack before Ah reach twenty."

"Je suis désolé chère. Remy was just… admirin' de view from out here." Remy replied handing her the towel, his eyes shamelessly traveling the length of her body.

As Rogue dried herself off, she looked at the clear blue sky that surrounded them. "The sky does look beautiful from out here."

"Dat's not what Remy meant, chère." He replied, smirking as he admired her perky backside, which had just the right amount of flesh.

Matilda cocked her head as she studied their exchange. "Hmm. A little reminiscent of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but still effective. I think these two can take it from here, and I need to see how Kurt and Kitty are doing." Matilda appeared this time in Kitty's room, where she was still dancing and Kurt was still watching with a look in his eyes that was borderline worshipful.

_I just gotta get out of this prison cell_

_One day I'm gonna be free_

_Won't somebody (somebody)_

_Somebody (somebody)_

_Can anybody find me _

_Somebody to love?_

A portion of the song where the vocals became stronger began and Kitty actually pulled her hair out of her ponytail. Her hair sashayed and flipped with the motion of Kitty in ways that Kurt had only imagined during his more secret fantasies about her. Then the guitar solo happened: it was an absolute train wreck for Kurt and all it took was Kitty making a few thrusting motions in tune with the cords with her pelvis.

_Find her somebody to love_

_Find her somebody to love_

_Find her somebody to love_

_Find her somebody to love_

_Find her somebody to love_

_Find her somebody to love_

Kurt was amazed at the things that Kitty could do with her petite form. At one point she actually made a point with her leg outstretched (which Kurt's gutter portion of his mind wonder about the limits of her flexibility) and then topped herself with not one, but two running splits. Kurt wanted to see more but could not risk getting caught by Kitty. "Oh just open the door a little bit wider, she won't notice." Matilda urged him. Kurt felt that only opening it a crack more wouldn't be that big of a deal; famous last words.

_Can anybody find me_

Kitty was doing a few spins and wasn't paying any attention to the invisible love spirit who had quickly said an enchantment for her to become tangible. Very quickly Matilda appeared beside Kitty and stuck her leg out. "Clumsy, clumsy me." Matilda said, innocently enraptured with the ceiling. Later Kitty would say that she tripped her leg on the side of her dresser. But she wasn't really thinking about that at that moment in time, as she was falling backwards really, really fast and would have fallen flat on her back… had there not been a furry blue elf there to reach out and catch her just in time. Both his hands were cradling her as she was leaned backwards. The two looked directly into each other's eyes just as Anne Hathaway sang:

_Somebody to love_

Kurt pulled Kitty back up and they looked at each other. "Please, finish your dance." Kurt urged, as the song was not over. Kitty regained her composure, briefly smiled at Kurt and then resumed her dancing, which was much softer as the song had calmed down. Kurt did not try to hide the awe that was evident on his face as he had nothing to hinder his view of Kitty dancing this time. It ended and Kitty took a breath in and opened her eyes.

"Kurt… exactly how long have you been standing there?"

Kurt shifted uncomfortably on his oddly shaped feet. "Long enough to tell you… that you dance beautifully Kätzchen."

Kitty bowed her face quickly to hide the blush spreading on her cheeks. "Well, I used to dance really well, but I've gotten out of practice and I'm not as good as I used to be. But all I was doing back then was dancing. I was kind of obsessed. I wish you could've seen how good I was then."

"Oh nein Kätzchen. Once the Russian Ballet came to Germany and my parents took me to see it. I believe it was Cinderella they were performing; I could tell no difference between their prima ballerina and you just now. You are probably better than she ever vas." Kurt stepped further into her room.

"Come on Kurt, that's the best ballet company in the world." Kitty said, amused but shaking her head dismissively.

"Ja, I know that Kätzchen." Kurt suddenly looked anxious about something as he sat down on her bed. "Vould you… vould you do another dance… for me?"

Now it was Kitty's turn to look anxious; Matilda smiled wickedly at the girl's obvious discomfort. "Well…" Kitty said slowly, obviously not sure.

"Oh come on, you know Kurt would never laugh at you." Matilda said impatiently.

Kitty bit her lower lip and said, "Okay. I've just never been one for audiences."

"Then pretend I am not here." Kurt said leaning forward from where he sat.

Kitty walked over to her CD player and this time chose something more traditional. Very slow, haunting music filled the room as "Swan Lake" began to play. Kitty's movements reflected the mood of the song, as she did a routine that she learned in her younger years. Kurt watched her dance with eyes that made Kitty feel like she was the only woman in the entire world. "And to Kurt she is." Matilda said looking back and forth between the two people.

As Kitty became more and more involved in the song, Matilda felt that it time she took her leave of them. "Better see how Remy and Rogue are holding up." Matilda appeared at the pool again, only to discover it entirely vacant. "Now where could they have…" Matilda poked her head back through the doorway and looked down the hallway; she could faintly hear the sound of water running.

Remy leaned his head back against the tile of the wall. The steam from the hot water was making the ends of his hair curl slightly. He sat on the bench just out of view of the showers in the girl's locker room. His fingers gently caressed the towel that he held in waiting for a young woman. Not just any young woman though: the one girl that Remy could never fully get out of his head. He couldn't even begin to describe the amount of bliss he felt when he saw her coming out of the pool, so he could only imagine how he would feel if saw her dripping wet and naked. And all it would take to have this moment was to only turn his head a little; it took all his will power to resist.

"If Ah didn't know any better, Ah would say that you were stalkin' meh." Rogue called to Remy.

"Nah, just hopin' for a chance to see y' naked." Remy said answered back.

"Oh that's nice Remy. Make her think that you just want her for her body." Matilda said. She was sitting right next Remy on the bench, with her arms crossed and her little legs dangling over the edge. "Is there any harm in trying to have a real conversation with her instead of hitting on her all the time? She might like that."

"De truth is chère, Remy wanted to… err…" Remy ran his free hand through his hair.

If Remy could see Matilda, he would have seen an expression on her face that was a cross between annoyance and sympathy. "My God… this is actually difficult for you, isn't it?" Remy's response was scratching his head some more. Matilda rubbed between her eyes briefly. "Why is it always the pretty ones who are so stupid?" She leaned closer to him. "Listen, she's not just some random bimbo that you're trying to pick up at a bar; this is a girl you actually like. Get to know her. Try asking about her: what she likes, what she dislikes, what are her dreams?"

Remy sat up straight again. "Remy want to ask 'y what y've been dreamin' 'bout lately."

"Metaphorical dreams, you yutz!" Matilda yelled, and then leaned over Remy and looked at Rogue; she was standing under the stream of the shower and her entire body was flushed pink from the heat. She was looking in Remy's direction with a look on her face that could only be described as a deer in the headlights.

"Uh… why do ya ask?" Rogue began to scrub her body a little harder than normal, but still retaining that fearful, anxious expression.

"I don't get it? What could she be so nervous about-" Matilda remembered the dreams that she discovered Rogue had been having about Remy as of late- the very graphic, naughty/bad/fun, surround sound dreams she had been having about Remy as of late. "Uh-oh. Bad suggestion."

"Just wanted t' know if y've been dreamin' 'bout dis Cajun." Remy said, with his trademark smirk. Rogue was turning a deep shade of red now and it wasn't because of the shower.

"That's just perfect Remy. You're back to hitting on her. I meant her dreams about the future, not literally." Matilda rested her forehead in her palm.

_You want to know if I'm dreaming about you?_ Rogue thought. "Almost every night." Matilda said in unison with Rogue's thoughts. Rogue shut her eyes as she stood directly under the stream of the water, letting it run rivers over her eyelids and forming drops of water on her eyelashes.

"My God, don't stop!" Rogue was the definition of bliss as Remy delved into her wet folds again and slipped his tongue in and out of her hole. She tried to raise herself in order to see his head in the junction of her thighs, but then he sucked her clit into his mouth and she fell backwards screaming. It wouldn't be long before she-

"Chère? Chère!" Rogue snapped out of her memory of her last dream and looked in the direction that Remy was sitting. "Y' never answered Remy's question."

"Ah'm only dreamin' 'bout you in your dreams Swamp Rat." Rogue replied coolly.

"So is dat a no?"

"Yeah, that's a no."

"Y' wound dis Cajun chère, almost daily it seems."

"Well, this conversation certainly didn't go the way I had planned it. I had hoped that they would be honest and actually share with each other. I guess it was a bad suggestion on my behalf." Matilda said thoughtfully.

"Dare Ah ask what you've been dreamin' about?" Rogue said as she began to scrub her hair.

"Nice way to turn this conversation around." Matilda looked intently at Remy as she allowed herself into his thoughts; she pulled her hands out looking surprised. "The only problem is that Remy doesn't remember his dreams often. I wonder what he's going to say."

"Well chère, while y' have not been dreamin' of poor old Remy, he has been blissfully dreamin' of y'." Remy said, his smirk growing at the corners of his mouth.

"You liar." Both Matilda and Rogue said at the same time (although Remy only heard Rogue).

"Non chère, it's true. Why just la nuit passée, dere was dis wonderful dream 'bout you wearin' dat getup dat de belle femme wore in _9 ½ Weeks_."

"Who, Kim Basinger?"

"Oui, dat's de one."

Rogue looked like she was turning a little deeper shade of red, and it wasn't from being embarrassed, but from being flattered. "Are you comparin' meh ta Kim Basinger?" (Matilda looked very hopeful)

"Non, of course not chère." Rogue's face instantly fell (as did Matilda's). "Y're much prettier den she… and younger at dat. Y' remind more of dat femme from _Beetlejuice_."

"Winona Ryder?" Rogue asked, scrunching her eyebrows in disgust.

"Non, non, non, de other one. De one who was married to Alec Baldwin."

"That was Kim Basinger."

"Non, married to him in de movie."

"Oh, you mean Geena Davis?"

"Dat's de one. Oui, y' remind me o' her… sort of."

"What do yah mean 'sort of'?"

Matilda wasn't sure and was tempted to call herself crazy, but she could've sworn that just then she saw Remy LeBeau, the ragin' Cajun himself, blushing. "I mean de attitude dat y' have is a lot like her's, but other den dat… y' are y' own person. Plus y' are ten times more belle den she is and more unique."

"I wonder why saying that made Remy feel a little shy." Matilda said. She slipped her fingers into his thoughts again ("I should just leave them in there!"). "He feels that this was the first time he was sincerely telling her that he thought she was pretty! Dude, she's never going to get that sense from you comparing her to Geena Davis!"

"Ah can't say that Ah've never cared for her as an actress." Rogue said, turning off the water to her shower.

"Really? Can't say dat I've ever seen her in anythin' else." Rogue extended one arm from out behind the shower wall. Remy began to hand her the towel, but just as her fingers had barely skimmed the fabric did he yank it away instantly. He did this three times before Rogue got fed up and just grabbed it from him quickly. "So what actresses do y' think are worth seein'?"

"Well, Ah thought Rose McGowen was the shit in _Jawbreakers_. Ah don't really care for her on Charmed though." Rogue emerged from the shower stall with the towel wrapped around her body; it was the second time that day that Remy LeBeau had seen Rogue dripping wet while scantily clad. It pained him to think about how all he would have to do is one quick yank to her towel and the great mystery that would be what's beneath those layers of clothes would be solved… "Ah also loved Hilary Swank in _Boys Don't Cry_, but that's not a 'watch for fun' kind of movie." Rogue walked over to her gym bag and slipped on a black cotton Victoria's Secret v-string on under the towel (Remy crossed his legs to hide a certain problem that was growing in his jeans).

"Don't want t' watch dat den." Remy said, as Rogue motioned for him to turn away. He complied as she dropped the towel and pulled on her bra.

Matilda leaned in closer to him and whispered in his ear. "If you want to watch a movie with her, recommend the sexiest one that you have ever seen. One that could practically be considered porn. That will put her in the mood." Remy turned back to face Rogue as soon as she had some jeans on. All he saw was the back of her bra as she pulled an Emily the Strange t-shirt over her head. "Dear God, I hope he doesn't say _Showgirls_."

"Have you ever seen _Y Tu Mama Tambien_?" Remy asked with a perfect Spanish accent. Matilda and Rogue both looked at him surprised.

"I can't believe he actually just suggested an artsy, deep movie." Matilda said, with eyebrows raised. "No fair! Now he has looks and brains!" She laughed at herself.

"No, Ah haven't. Ah heard that it was excellent though." Rogue said, combing her wet hair out with her fingers.

"Do y' want to watch it wit' dis Cajun? Got it up in m' room." Remy stood, and jerked his head towards the door.

Rogue looked back at him, searching his face for any sign that he might try and pull something. Either he was a very good actor or he really just wanted to spend time with her. She sighed and finally said, "Why not? Ah got nothin' better to do anyway."

With that the two walked out of the locker room, not even recognizing the third figure in the room who watched them leave. Matilda gleefully noted the hand that Remy had placed in the small of Rogue's back. She shook her head in happy amazement and said, "Amazing. They start out talking about wet dreams which somehow leads to a decently pleasant conversation about movies, and that brings them to watching an incredibly sexy movie in his room together." She shrugged and slid off the bench. "That worked out better than I had thought it would." Matilda looked up towards the ceiling thinking about the other couple that she had left upstairs.

Kitty had just lowered her arms as the sounds of an oboe solo ended. She turned around and looked at Kurt. He had the most content smile on his face as he looked at her flushed face and heard her light panting. She had danced to three different songs for him since "Swan Lake" (he didn't even ask her to) and it had been pure heaven for Kurt.

"Kätzchen, I have to ask, do you own or rent?"

Kitty cocked her head confusedly. "Own or rent what?"

"Your vings, you angel." Kurt said, as he lightly applauded her. Kitty giggled and did a light, mock curtsey.

"Oh my God, I haven't danced like that in so long." Kitty said, as she plopped down on her bed next to Kurt. "I forgot how good it can feel."

"Vhy did you stop?" Kurt asked, looking at her intently. "You are a vonderful dancer and you seem to love doing it. I cannot understand vhat vould make you stop."

Kitty shrugged. "I don't know. Once I got into high school, my parents wanted me to focus more on my grades rather than dancing. I have to admit, it did take up a lot of my time."

"Because of how often you vere performing?"

"Nah, it was more because I was taking like a different class almost every day. Even on the weekends."

"Really? All for ballet?"

"No, it was for everything. Jazz, Jazz Tap, traditional African dance, ballroom dance, swing dancing, Irish Step dancing (Kurt raised an eyebrow at the idea of her doing a dance with Michael Flatley), hip hop, ballet of course, and…um… well, the other one's not really that important." Kitty said, blushing a little.

"Oh come on Kätzchen. You can tell me." Kurt said, a little too eagerly. What could this secret dance be?

"Yeah, what could this secret dance be?" Matilda said. She stood a little ways away from the two sitting on the bed. She stalked forward and stuck her fingers quickly into Kitty's thoughts. She pulled them back out looking surprised. "Wow… yeah, I think I can understand why she doesn't want him to know about that… yet."

Kitty cleared her throat loudly. "Kurt, I'm kind of gross right now. I think I'm going to go take a shower." She stood and smiled at Kurt. He looked a little surprised at her sudden eagerness for departure but he smiled at her anyway.

"Okay." Kitty turned and began to leave the room when Kurt suddenly called after her. "Hey Keety?" She turned to face him. "Danke for showing me your dance." She smiled and left the room. As soon as he was sure Kitty was out of earshot, he let out a deep sigh and fell backwards on the girl on his dreams' bed.

Matilda got really close to his face and studied him intently. "He looks positively dreamy." Matilda said with a giggle. "He's definitely a unique breed of handsome but handsome nonetheless." She noted the happy grin on his face. "I don't think he's going anywhere, and I already know what he's thinking about." She looked at the open door. "I know that he's already fallen for her, but it's the girl that I need to worry about." Matilda collected herself and followed the path that Kitty had taken out the door.

If only Matilda had stayed in the bedroom a few minutes longer; then she could have prevented disaster to her seemingly flawless plan. As the god of bad timing declared that at that moment Scott had to walk by the door. He was startled to Kurt lying in a dazed mass on Kitty's bed. He stepped into the room and looked at Kurt curiously.

"Kurt, what are you doing in here?"

Kurt sat up and looked at Scott happily. "Scott, the most incredible thing just happened to me."

"Uh, Kurt…" Scott had just seen Kitty walking past him and she looked flushed and sweaty for some reason. "What exactly have you and Kitty been doing in here that was so incredible?"

Kurt's happy expression faded to one of seriousness. "Scott, vhat I am about to tell you could potentially embarrass Kitty." Kurt ported past him and closed the door. "I need your vord that you are not going to tell anyone else about this."

Scott was starting to dread what Kurt was about to tell him. _Great, now I've got to lecture him about using condoms and taking responsibility for whatever the consequences of his actions may be_, Scott thought. "This secret dies with me. Now what is it?"

Kurt cleared his throat and looked excitedly at Scott. "Kitty just allowed me… to vatch her dance!"

Scott raised his eyebrows. "She danced for you… and then what?"

Kurt looked at him surprised. "She only danced."

"Oh." Scott looked slightly disappointed (he had, after all, just prepared a lecture in his head). "What was so exciting about her dancing? Was she naked or something?"

Kurt looked completely horrified. "Nein, it vas not like that!" Well, not all of it for most of the time, he thought to himself. "She only danced for me."

"Kurt, you know you've seen her dance before."

"Not like this. This vas… really special. Did you know that she danced ballet?"

"No, I didn't, actually. She danced ballet for you? I'm still not seeing the incredible-ness of the situation."

"It vas not just someone dancing ballet. It vas the most beautiful, graceful, pure thing I've ever seen. You should have seen the look on her face. It vas as though that all that existed vas her and the music. She told me that she hadn't danced in a long time. She told me that she vas never one for audiences. And yet she vas villing to dance for me." Kurt said, coming to a realization as he uttered those last words. Kitty had danced for him. She trusted him enough to show a part of herself that she had not been in touch with for a long time.

"I'm still not seeing what was so special about that. Was she wearing a pink tutu or something?" Scott said, obviously bored.

Kurt, broken out of his happy place, sighed. "I suppose you had to be there."

"Probably." Scott said, detachedly. "Listen, I'm going to my room now. See you at dinner." Scott turned to leave.

"Okay." Kurt said, still sounding disappointed that his so-called friend did not understand what he had seen. Then he remembered something. "Scott, don't tell anyone. I think Kitty vould kill me if she knew that I told you."

"Kurt, give me a break. I told you that I wouldn't."

"Hey Jean?" Scott said, as he passed his girlfriend in the hall leading to the rec room. "Did you know that Kitty dances? Like traditional ballet dancing and stuff?"

"No, I didn't. How did you find out?"

"Kurt was going on and on about how she danced for him today. Crazy huh?"

"The things that you don't know about your friends." Jean said, shaking her head lightly. "So are we still set for the movie tonight?"

"Hey Amara!" Jean called. Amara was in her room reading the latest issue of InStyle. "Did Kitty ever tell you that she dances ballet?"

"Fascinating." Amara didn't even look up from her magazine. "Should I tell the media immediately or can I wait until after dinner to call the news?"

"No, the interesting part is that she did a private recital for Kurt today."

Amara looked at her with renewed interest. "Really? Who told you?"

"Rahne." Amara said indignantly. "Did you hear about Kitty and Kurt?"

"Jubilee, I have the most thrilling news to tell you…"

"Ray, you're not going to believe what I just heard…"

"Bobby, dude, wait 'til you hear this man…"

"Sam, I just heard that Kitty just gave Kurt a private lap dance in her room!"

"Alex, did you hear?"

"Piotr, listen to this…"

"Roberto, I still can't really believe what people are saying…"

"X-23, I don't know if you'd really care to know but…"

"Not that I care or anything Tabitha, but did you hear…"

"OHMYGOD, Jamie you haven't heard about…"

"Mr. Warren, what's a 'strip tease' sir?"

It took a whole fifteen minutes for the news of what happened between Kitty and Kurt to get around the whole mansion (that's gossip for ya!). It happened without Kurt or Kitty's knowledge as Kurt spent the rest of his day reading in his room and after her shower, Kitty went to her room to look at her computer some more. About the only students who hadn't heard the latest rag were Remy and Rogue, and that was only because they spent the entire afternoon in his room watching their movie. Another person oblivious to the developments in the mansion gossip farm was a visitor that no one could see, and the only reason she didn't know was because she was preoccupied with following only her subjects around.

As Kitty walked down the hall to the bathroom, Matilda jumped up and briefly stuck her fingers in her thoughts. When she got what she needed, Matilda quit following Kitty and just stood in the hallway and watched as she walked away. "She hasn't danced in a long time, it's true. She still can't believe she was willing to dance for Kurt, only because he asked. She had never even danced for Lance. Not that he ever asked to see her dance. But she never really told him that she could. Even if he had asked to see her dance, she wouldn't have done it for him. She knew he would have made fun of her love. Lance hated to dance. Just one of many indications that he was never good for her. She's surprised herself that she only allowed Kurt to watch her dance. It's because she knows she can trust Kurt with that part of her. A part of her has always wanted to show him her dancing, even though that would take some time for her to admit to it." Matilda smiled at her satisfactory work. "I think I've done pretty good for about under an hour. At this rate, they should all be declaring their love for each other by nightfall."

Still, Matilda couldn't help but feel as though she had forgotten something. "What could it be?" Then Matilda smacked her hand to her forehead hard. "Crap! I forgot about the whole Hirane thing. I still need to figure out a way to get them up in his area. But how?" Matilda pondered silently a few minutes. She looked around at her surroundings: the narrow hall way that had the doors that led to each bedroom. "No wonder I can't think straight. This place is too confining. I need some space, but I can't go too far away."

Matilda appeared downstairs and began pacing. She had yet to come up with something when she heard some deep male voices from down the hall. She turned her head curiously and looked down the hall. She followed the voices until she came to be inside a room that she recognized as the study of the headmaster at this curious school. Two men were in there presently that she recognized as Professor Charles Xavier and the ever so mysterious loner Logan.

"Logan, I really don't see the purpose in forcing the students to do another survival training field trip." The professor said, with as much patience as he could muster.

"You have to understand Chuck that these kids need to be prepared for anything and everything. These may seem pointless but until the kids can convince me that they can survive on their own in a near death no hope situation, I will keep suggesting these things." Logan said, in his deep gravel in a cement mixer voice. "How about you come with me? Maybe that would give the kids the proper encouragement to try… well, actually try."

The professor sighed; there would obviously be no convincing Logan of otherwise. "All right, all right. All the students?"

"All of them except two, if Hank and Ro come. Then two will need to stick behind and watch the place. I was thinking Summers and Jean might be the ones to stay behind, since they've practically passed the course already."

"Fair enough. So all the students (minus two) and all the instructors. Where are you planning on taking us? That place where Hank took the students a while back?"

"Oh don't take them there." Matilda said emphatically to Logan. "How about that place around that small cloister of mountains up north? It's new territory so it will keep the students on their toes. Plus there's a variety of terrain there, so it could present a whole new slew of challenges for the students."

"Actually there's this place up north that I was thinking of. It's been a while since I've been there, but the kids have never been, and I think it would actually challenge them nicely."

The professor scrunched his eyebrows at Logan briefly. Matilda wondered what the problem was. She nearly wet herself when he looked from Logan to directly in her direction. She breathed a sigh of relief when the professor shook his head dismissively and looked back at Logan. "All right. When are you planning on leaving?"

"I'm thinking the day after tomorrow. I'll tell the kids tomorrow at breakfast, that'll give them the day to pack. Then we leave first thing Tuesday morning."

Matilda smiled to herself. "Well done girl. Talk about good timing. Now they're headed straight for Hirane. With all of them together they should be able to take down a pathetic demon tree no problem." Matilda left the study and stretched her small arms in the hallway. "Let's see, I've got Kurt and Kitty about to fall in love and the same goes for Remy and Rogue, and I've got them set on the path to Hirane. I'd say I've got this job pretty much in the bag." She pulled a soft-cover book out nowhere and appeared in the living room. She plopped down on the sofa. "Now it's time to relax until dinner when I can see the sparks fly." She opened her copy of _A Murder Is Announced_ and began to read.

Rogue was surprised that she had actually had a decent time watching a movie with Remy. She had been a little taken aback by the opening shot (Diego Luna's butt!) but found herself enjoying the independent foreign film. All three of the main actors had done a wonderful job in their roles, and the sex scenes were sexy while being realistic. She didn't ignore the fact that Remy seemed to be inching closer and closer towards her until their sides were pressed together. He even did the old stretching trick (stretch out his arms and then drape one over her shoulders) and she didn't swat him away. During the infamous towel scene as Tenoch said "la toalla?", Remy leaned over and whispered in her ear "la serviette?" Rogue giggled a little bit; she couldn't really help it.

Rogue also didn't seem to mind that whenever they aired an insanely graphic sex scene after another that Remy lightly caressed her clothed back with his fingers. Rogue seemed to smile just a little when this happened.

"She sure does cry a lot over a jerk off husband." Rogue said aloud after watching another scene where Luisa was crying.

"Y' find out later dat dere's a very good reason why she's cryin'."

Rogue cocked her head in contemplation a little bit later as the close up showing Luisa dancing began. "Do yah think she's pretty?"

It was Remy's turn to cock his head. "She's all right. Not really gorgeous, but appealin' in her own way."

Rogue nodded. "Good answer." She noticed that Remy began to grin when yet another bedroom scene began. "What is it?"

"Dis scene puts all de other ones t' shame as far as shock value goes."

Rogue looked back at the screen and her eyes widened a little bit when it became obvious that scene was going to include a threesome. She hoped that Remy could not hear her breathing increase slightly as Luisa kissed the two handsome Hispanic young men very intimately. She looked at Remy, he just smiled at her and motioned for her to look back at the screen. She did and was amazed at the sight of those same two young Hispanic men kissing each other. Her mouth dropped open. Remy grinned wider at her expression.

"Ah cannot believe that they just did that!" Rogue said, half shouting, half laughing.

"Got a problem wit' gay men chère?"

"No, Ah just wasn't expectin' that, that's all." Rogue looked at him and cocked an eyebrow. "Ah'm surprised that you're so relaxed about it." She looked at him suspiciously. "Are you by chance-"

"Non chère, m' not gay." Remy said, very firmly. "When y' live in N'awlins as long as Remy did, den you see everythin' an' I do mean everythin'."

Rogue returned her attention to the movie. She would never admit to Remy that she was actually moved to Luisa's last words to Julio and Tenoch:

"Life is like the surf, so give yourself away like the sea."

The final scene in the coffee shop began. When Tenoch revealed to Julio a huge shock, Rogue's mouth dropped open. She looked at Remy and he only had a very knowing expression on his face.

"Now you know why she was cryin' so much."

"Mah God… everything she did makes sense now." She felt her eyes begin to water as Tenoch walked away. "Dang… that's so sad, yet incredibly beautiful."

Just like you, Remy thought to himself. "What did y' think?"

"Ah liked it. Ah thought at first that it might be all sex trying to cover up a lack of a storyline, but it definitely had a deeper meanin'."

"And what do y' think dat deeper meaning is?"

Rogue pondered for a second. "Ah guess… to live life to your fullest." Remy arched his eyebrow. "Yeah, Ah don't think that's it either."

"Remy thinks dat de reason dey kept showing the random stories about things dat de characters might not know is to show how unpredictable life can be, and dat y'll never know how y'll end up. Remy thinks de only certain thing you can do about life is to live each day as it comes and not regret anythin'. So you see chère, y' weren't wrong." Remy smiled at her, and for once she smiled back.

"Not regret anything…?" Rogue trailed off as somehow she found her face as well as Remy's inching closer and closer together.

They were just a few inches away from each other's mouths when the door opened abruptly. They quickly pulled apart and tried not to look too guilty. Scott looked between the two of them angrily and said, "Dinner's ready."

Rogue was the first to stand and quickly pushed past Scott as she walked out the door. Remy stood and was about to leave his room when Scott stopped him.

"Stay away from Rogue. She's had it really tough and she doesn't need her heart broken by swamp scum like you."

Oh, the things Remy could have said (and done) to him right then, but somehow he restrained himself and took the high road for once. "Don't intend on breakin' her heart vous soulless morceau de merde." Remy continued past a confused Scott down to the dining room.

Everyone was chattering away as they took their seats in the dining room. Remy took a seat next to Rogue and was pleased at the angered expression on Scott's face. Rogue didn't seem so unhappy as she might have usually been on a normal day, but she had seen a different side of the Cajun today and thought that maybe they could do the friend thing. Kurt kept looking at the entrance to the dining room as he did his best to save a seat for Kitty. She came in a minute later and briefly the chattering stopped.

Rogue, Remy, Kurt, Kitty, and all the instructors looked around oddly at this rare occurrence of a fully occupied room being silenced suddenly. Kitty shrugged it off and took her seat next to Kurt and began to help herself to some dinner.

Another person walked in at that moment, but no one seemed to notice this one. Matilda looked curiously at a school of young people that were usually loud were talking quietly amongst themselves. "Eh, kids these days." She said to herself, and propped herself on top of a small table where she got a good view of all the goings on at the long table. She was pleased to see that her respective couples were talking to each other absorbed in their own conversations.

"Hey Ms. Kitty?" Jamie asked, as he walked up behind her. He had seemed absorbed in his own thoughts throughout most of dinner, but finally couldn't take the question that was nagging him in the back of his mind. "What's a 'strip tease'?"

The silent chattering stopped immediately. Kitty's mouth dropped open. Kurt nearly choked on the veggies he was chewing. Remy and Rogue simply looked at Jamie shocked as did the half of the table that included the instructors and some students. The other half of the table had to hold in their laughter. Matilda nearly fell off of her perch.

"Why do you want to know that Jamie?" Kitty managed to get out.

"Tabitha told me that you gave Kurt something called a 'strip tease' this afternoon, and when I asked Mr. Warren what it was he told me that he would tell me when I was older. But I thought since you were the one she was talking about that you might be able to tell me." Jamie said, very innocently. He truly had no idea what kind of affect his words had on Kitty and the rest of the table.

"Oh. Tabitha told you that?" Kitty said. The entire table turned to look at Tabitha (Kitty unashamedly glared at her).

"Hey, I wasn't the first one to say it. I heard those exact words from X-23 of all people." Tabitha said putting her hands up defensively.

Every head turned to look at X-23. "Don't look at me. I heard it from Roberto."

All eyes turned to Roberto. "Piotr was the one who told me exactly that."

"I heard it from Alex."

"Sam's the one who told me."

"Bobby's the one who told me she gave him a lap dance!"

All eyes immediately fell on Bobby. He looked a little sheepish and then said, "Okay, fine! I was the one who said she gave him a lap dance. But it sounded a lot more interesting than her just doing a little ballet recital for him."

There were a lot of grumbles from disappointed students who had obviously been hoping that Kitty had given Kurt a lap dance.

Kurt looked angrily at Scott. "You said you vouldn't tell anyone!" He shouted.

"I didn't tell anyone Kurt!" Scott shot back defensively.

"Then how does everyone know, I didn't tell them!" Kurt said, growing increasingly more angry.

"I swear I didn't tell anyone, besides Jean."

"Vhat! That's telling someone!"

"Kurt, I tell Jean everything."

"You veren't supposed to tell _anyone_!"

"_You_ weren't supposed to tell anyone!" Kitty's voice brought Kurt to look back at her. The expression on her face was a combination of anger and hurt. It broke Kurt's

heart right then.

"Kätzchen, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have, but I just had to tell someone about how you dance."

"I bet Scott didn't even care, and now the whole damn mansion knows!" Kitty shouted.

"Kitty come on, there's really no reason to get angry." Jean said. Kitty and Kurt both glared at her.

"Why does she insist on saying the exact wrong thing at the exact worse time?" Matilda asked.

"Jean, it's not something I want to share with everybody." Kitty said, through gritted teeth.

"Kitty, honestly there's nothing wrong with people knowing that you love to dance." Kitty hated to admit that that was true. So the people she lived with now knew of her love of dance. So what? They had already expressed that they thought ballet was pretty boring. It could be worse, Kitty thought, they could know about the fact that I know how to-

"OH MY GOD! YOU KNOW HOW TO BELLYDANCE!" Jean just had to scream at the top of her lungs for the entire table to hear with the most shocked expression on her face. As Jean realized the consequences of her reading Kitty's thoughts just then, she squeaked a very small, "sorry."

Kitty could swear to every god in every religion that her face was on fire. She didn't dare look beyond the plate in front of her at the other people situated around the table (she would have seen one surprised face after another, including Kurt himself). She stood up and slowly and said, "You know what? I'm not really that hungry."

As she turned to leave the room, Kurt made an attempt to grab her wrist. "Kätzchen…" He said earnestly, as she yanked her wrist away.

"Don't talk to me Kurt." She said firmly, as she disappeared from the room.

Kurt started to stand to follow her but Rogue quickly said, "Kurt let meh talk to her first. Ah don't think you should try to say anything right now." Rogue stood and followed after Kitty.

Kurt pressed his face into palms, not wanting to look anybody in the eye right now. Everyone at the table had been stunned into silence.

"She knows how to bellydance? That is… so hot."

"Shut up Drake." Logan said with a death threat in his voice.

The remainder of the dinner was incredibly awkward, Matilda was sure. She didn't know because she had left soon after the girls did and was pacing around outside. She was convinced that the cool night air might clear her head… or at least calm her down.

"Damn! Shit! Fuck! Everything was going so perfectly too! It wasn't even Kurt's fault! It was stupid Scott's doing! Because of that little douche bag, all that hard work was just tossed out the window! I can't believe it! They were so close to getting together too! Now I have to practically start from scratch!" Matilda slumped down on the ground and rested her chin in her palm. This night had certainly not gone how she had planned it.

After a few moments of angrily venting, she took a few deep breaths in and out. "Okay, minor set back, I'll admit it. But I'm not starting completely from scratch. They have too much history together to be mad at each other forever. Tomorrow is another day after all." Matilda stood and began pacing. "I've played it from getting the men to 'fall in love first' angle, now I need to approach it differently tomorrow. Maybe I don't need to get them thinking about romance. Maybe I need to get them thinking about the one thing that typically leads to romance." Matilda frowned slightly. "It's usually a cheap cop out way to go, but it proves to be effective almost every time." She sighed and looked up at the bedroom windows that were going out one by one. "I need to get them all thinking about sex with each other."

Kitty didn't feel much like talking when Rogue first approached her, so the girls just called it an early night. Rogue didn't want to let Kitty in on her new found feelings towards a certain Cajun quite yet since Kitty was kind of upset. As the girls drifted off to dreamland, they didn't hear or see what appeared to be a little girl watching them sleep.

"Okay, dreams are usually the way to go when trying to learn about the subconscious desires of our hearts." She walked to Kitty and slipped her fingers inside of her head.

"Come on, this way!" Mouth from _The Goonies_ shouted at Kitty. Kitty looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing her old pink ballerina tutu and a gaudy glass tiara on her head and was surprised to find herself carrying a bowling ball. "What are we running from!" Kitty yelled at him. She turned around and saw a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man destroying New York City. Kitty let out a scream.

Matilda pulled out her fingers. "Okay, standard collage jumble of dreams fare. Sex is definitely not on the brain for you." She turned to look at Rogue; there was a faint smile on her face. "Let's see what Rogue's dreaming of." Matilda slid her hand into Rogue's dreams.

The backseat of the station wagon was cramped and both Rogue and Remy were sweating buckets, but that didn't stop them. "Cójame, usted hombre magnífico!" Rogue shouted at the top of her lungs. They were both naked and pressed together. Rogue sat on top of his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. His hands gripped her hips and he was raising her up and down onto his huge rock hard cock. He gripped her hips harder as they both quickly approached-

Matilda pulled her fingers out abruptly as though she had been burned. "Geez, Rogue! I don't have to do much work to get her thinking about sex with Remy." Matilda shook her head and teleported to Kurt's room.

There were two beds situated in an L shape. In one bed Sam slept, snoring contentendly, without a singled miserable thought hindering his dreams. And then there was Kurt. The poor boy didn't look like he was sleeping very peacefully. He looked like he was sweating through his fur and tossing from side to side in his bed. Matilda looked concerned as she slid her fingers into his brain.

"Kätzchen! Please, don't let me burn!" Kurt was tied to a stake in the center of an angry mob, shouting for his death. The pile of dry straw and wood had just been set fire to. Kitty was directly in front of the fire; she wore a white cape with a hood placed on top of her head. Under the cape she was naked and beautiful in the light of the fire. Kurt looked at her face through the flames, and the light of the fire reflected off the tears that ran down her perfect cheeks. "I can't save you Kurt." She said sadly. Then she began to walk towards him, wincing as the flames touched her bare feet as she climbed up to him. The cloak was burning when she stood directly in front of him. "But I can burn with you."

Matilda jerked her hand away from Kurt's writhing head. "Geez, that's f'd up!" She said shaking her head. "The dream has some sexual undertones, like with her being naked, but it's too dark in order for him to think about her sexually. I'll need to work on him."

Remy had no roommate to worry about. He was motionless as he slept. Matilda couldn't help but notice that he slept naked. Her eyes were directly drawn to the growing tent that was being created with the blanket and a vital part of Remy's anatomy. "Yet another reason he is incredibly popular with the ladies." She paused before sliding her hand into his dreams. "Do I want to know what goes on inside his head at night?"

"Ah been waitin' for ya sugah." Rogue said huskily. She was laying on a four poster bed in his favorite hotel overlooking the French Quarter. The only thing covering her naked form were strategically placed playing cards. In both hands, she held a pint of his favorite beer. Remy caressed her face gently with his hand; nothing happened. They smiled at each other and just before he reached her lips to kiss her, she said in that incredibly sexy voice of hers, "Oh and Remy?" She smiled, bit her lower lip, and looked at him with coy eyes. "Ah want ya to be rough with meh."

"Heh. Fairly typical guy dream. I would say that I wouldn't have to do much work on him either, except that he doesn't remember these in the morning. Can't figure out why that is." Matilda tapped her foot as she thought for a moment. She disappeared and reappeared outside in the tree that Kurt was sitting in earlier that day.

Looking at the three windows that held her subjects, she puzzled and puzzled until her puzzler was sore. "Okay, out of the four, only one of them is blatantly fantasizing about sex night and day. I need to get all of them in that condition." She rested her chin in her hand. "But how do I get them thinking dirty thoughts about each other when they don't even want to?"

"What if I got them to catch each other in the throes of passion? That might do it, but I don't want them in the throes of passion with other people." She leant backwards and looked at the sky. "I need them to witness each other having an orgasm, so that they can imagine what they really look like while coming and so that the image of pure eroticism is stuck in their heads. Can I somehow persuade them to masturbate and have it perfectly timed to where their prospective walks in on them?" She shook her head quickly after entertaining the thought, somewhat annoyed at herself. "Who am I kidding? That won't work. It would make them mad at each other and cause things to be more awkward than they already are. I need something that's blameless, traceless, but sexy." She closed her eyes thinking hard, going through every charm she knew, and dismissing one after another, realizing what wouldn't work for the particular situation that she want to create.

Matilda sat in silence for nearly thirty minutes. Her eyes finally shot open and she looked up slowly. A smile began to grace her features. "Of course! That should have been the first thing that I thought of!" Her smile turned into a mixture of mischief and happiness as she uttered words that only made sense to her at the moment. "Passion fruit."


	3. Chapter Two: Passion Fruit

Chapter Two: Passion Fruit

The students didn't get as much sleep as they had hoped for. Around five that morning, Logan had the professor wake up every student telepathically to treat them to a "surprise" danger room session. He had said that it would prepare them for the survival training trip that he announced after they had finished their session (He growled and unsheathed his claws when he heard the chorus of groans from them; they didn't say another word) and he told them that they had the day to pack. Very few students enjoyed hearing this news: not only did it mean Logan dragging their asses half way across the wilderness, but he chosen the worst time to announce it. Not only were the students tired, hungry, sweaty and bruised, hadn't even brushed their teeth, but now they knew they had to spend the entire day preparing for a vacation in hell.

Kitty wasn't speaking to Kurt yet. The fact that the younger students kept doing ballet poses and the little I Dream of Jeanie dance whenever she was around didn't help matters much. Kurt was sad, of course, and watched regretfully as Kitty walked out of the danger room with Rogue without even glancing in his direction. If only he had kept his stupid mouth shut.

For some unknown reason, though, it seemed Rogue was not speaking to Remy either. Could it be that she was not speaking to him so that Kitty wouldn't feel like she was alone in being mad at somebody? Did she suddenly revert back to disliking him? Or was it simply that she wasn't sure what to think about their almost… um… "something" that nearly happened yesterday? Whatever the reason was, she turned around and walked in the other direction whenever it seemed like he would approach her.

Kitty and Rogue had been like most of the other students who went back upstairs to get a few more hours of sleep. Remy instead decided to get ready for the day and Kurt just fell back onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.

Matilda waited two more hours before appearing in the hallway downstairs. She looked at the huge staircase and waited; she knew that all the students would soon come bounding down those stairs for whatever things that they planned on doing that day. Matilda pulled out a small, silver, hand held tape recorder and held it close to her mouth.

"Matilda's War Journal: Day Two." She spoke into the speaker. "It's seven thirty five in the A.M. and the four subjects have yet to make an appearance. Subject number three is mad at subject number four presently, so my primary objective with these two is to get them un-mad at each other, and then get them in a romantic situation again. Subject number two for some unknown reason is not speaking to subject number one, possibly due to the awkwardness facing an open discussion about the almost kiss that they were both involved in yesterday with each other. Goal: get them to almost kiss again (that is the furthest that she can get), and hopefully get them to confess to some amount of feelings that they might be having for each other." Matilda looked in the direction of the kitchen. "My approach today is to get sex on their brains, so that they cannot look at each other without getting turned on. If all goes well, they will be able to spend the next few days shagging in the mountains while saving the world. The solution:" Matilda pulled out two bananas and two peaches. "Passion fruit: while you eat it, someone eats you."

Matilda turned to watch the large ensemble of students come down the stairs. Most of the younger ones went towards the rec room to watch TV, and a few of the older ones headed straight outside to their cars to go out for the day ("I thought Logan said they were supposed to be packing? sigh, kids these days."). It was a few minutes before Rogue and Kitty walked down the stairs together.

"I know it's not that serious Rogue. It's just one more thing people can tease me about."

"Kitty, what have Ah told you about caring about what other people think?"

"I know that. But because they're making fun of me, they've pretty much ruined dancing for me. It was the one thing that I wanted to keep sacred to me. Yesterday I chose to share it with Kurt and look what happened."

Rogue sighed. "Kitty, you know Kurt didn't mean for this to happen. You should keep dancing sacred to you, because it's something that you love to do and you aren't doing it for everybody else. And Ah know that it meant a lot to Kurt that you wanted to show him that part of your life."

Kitty's face hardened, an expression that looked almost abnormal on her. "I don't see why he just had to tell Scott, of all people, about it though…" Kitty's voice and Rogue's response faded as they walked inside of the kitchen.

Matilda leaned her head on her hand. "Yeah, she definitely needs a release in the worst way. And Rogue just needs to relax." Kurt teleported down the stairs in a slower fashion than his usual fashion; just one indication about how sad he was. "He definitely needs a happy. I think that I can probably help him in that department." Kurt looked as though he was going to head towards the library, which is in the complete opposite direction of the kitchen. "Oops, wrong way." Matilda quickly walked up behind him and said, "Don't ignore your poor deprived tummy!" Kurt tenderly placed a three fingered hand over his growling stomach. "Get some breakfast before you do anything else."

Kurt took a longing glance at the kitchen and then teleported into it (unbeknownst to him, he had a passenger). It's difficult to come up with the right words to describe the awkwardness that occurred in the kitchen the minute that Kurt appeared. Rogue was drinking from a carton of milk and Kitty was reaching for a box of cereal in one of the higher cabinets. Any conversation that the two girls had been having was now forgotten. They just looked at Kurt without a word, and he looked back with the same amount of silence. Matilda was getting dizzy from the amount of eye tennis she was playing by looking back and forth between the three.

Matilda pulled out her tape recorder again. "Sit rep: subjects three and four are unresponsive to being in the same room together. Subject two just appears to be attempting to blend in with the awkward atmosphere by not getting involved or speaking. If something is said right now, the two subjects will only begin to fight. Probably wise not to say anything." Matilda resumed watching them with focused intent, like an animal documentarian.

Leave it to Remy to be the one with bad timing. He came in suddenly rubbing the sleep from his eyes and said to no one in general, "Please tell Remy dat dere's coffee left." No one said anything, and Remy didn't seem to notice the great amount of silence currently present in the room. Rogue noticed that Kitty's surprised expression at seeing Kurt had been replaced by one that was vaguely reminiscent of Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction; she promptly stepped further away from Kitty.

Matilda briefly looked panicked and then pulled out her tape recorder. "Subject number three I believe is about to respond to subject number four's presence. Possible bloodshed might occur." Matilda hopped over to a stool by the island of the kitchen. She propped her head in her hand and watched with a zealous interest.

Kitty scowled at Kurt as soon as the words left Remy's mouth. She promptly put the cereal box back and began to storm out of the kitchen. She would have been successful, had a certain little blue man not caught her by the arm.

"Keety, please do not go." Kurt said, sounding desperate.

"Oh I am sorry. You must have me confused with someone who's speaking to you." Kitty said, not hiding the harshness in her voice. But Matilda noticed something interesting.

"Subject number three has yet to use her phasing powers to escape number four's grip. Could this mean that she wants to stay and talk things over with him?"

"Kätzchen, I'm not sure how many times I can say that I'm sorry before you believe me?" Kurt let go of Kitty when he was fairly sure that she would not leave at the moment.

"It's kind of funny you should mention that, because I have not heard you apologize more than once before now. But I can kind of understand why you haven't gotten the chance to, seeing as how I was and am avoiding you." Kitty said, going to the refrigerator. Remy silently drank a mug of coffee by the window and Rogue was barely noticeable looking through the cabinets for the bagels.

"Keety, how can you hope to avoid me? Ve live in the same house after all."

"Kurt…" Kitty said, sounding rather annoyed.

"Kätzchen, you know how sorry I am that you got embarrassed. I vould never have uttered a word to Scott had I known that he was going to tell everyone and their grandmothers."

"See, that's the thing Kurt! Why did you even have to tell Scott? I didn't want anybody to know."

"I… vell, I…" Kurt stammered.

"Subject number four appears to be having difficulty answering the question of why he told Scott. This most certainly has to do with the fact that if he tells subject three the truth, then he ends revealing his true feelings for her."

"Chaton, de reason Bleu felt a need to tell someone is dat seein' y' dance was probably de highlight of his life, an' de highlight of one's life is not somethin' dat y' can just keep t' y'self." Remy said, interjecting from his safe spot by the window. He seemed oblivious to the death stares he was getting from both Kitty and Kurt.

"Remy, do me a favor?" Remy raised his eyebrows in response to Kurt's question. "Quit helping."

"He's just tired of hearing about this. But then again aren't we all?" Rogue said, trying to look harmless.

"Rogue!" Kitty said, sounding offended.

"Well, it's true. Even while we were sleeping last night, you were givin' off the aura of being pissed and it was keepin' meh from gettin' a good night's sleep."

"Oh you're one to talk. I woke up in the middle of the night because of the damn nightmare you were having." Kitty said, trying to turn back to Kurt.

"Nightmare?" Rogue asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah, you were so loud. You were like moaning like a banshee and thrashing in your sleep. It was like Freddy was trying to kill you." Kitty said, not really noticing the blush that began to taint Rogue's cheeks.

"Uh, yeah, Freddy and all that." Rogue said, quickly stuffing a bagel in her mouth.

"What were y' dreamin' 'bout dat scared y' so bad chère-" Remy was cut off quickly.

"So Kitty, Kurt's some jerk for tellin' Scott about your ballet, idn't he?" Rogue said a little too quickly. It had its desired effect.

"Yeah, he is!" Kitty said, turning her full attention back to Kurt. Kurt looked incredulously at his sister.

"I thought that you vanted this to end?"

"Well little brother, sometimes you just gotta fight stuff out." Rogue said, trying to sound as though she had the wisdom of the sages.

"Yeah! Now tell me why you told him when I asked you not to?" Kitty asked, crossing her arms.

"Vell… technically Keety you never specifically asked me not to tell anyone. I just assumed you might be embarrassed because that is how you are." Kurt said, trying to sound sensible.

"Well, you assumed right!" Kitty said, not at all daunted by the fact that Kurt had pointed out something she had been wrong about.

"Hmm… this is getting them no where." Matilda said, stroking her non existent chin beard. "And things are getting tense in here." She pulled out the peaches and the bananas again. "Time to enter the Passion Fruit."

Very silently and carefully, Matilda gently placed the two peaches at the top of the fruit bowl that was at the center of the counter. She looked behind her to see Kitty telling Kurt something, and then stood and walked towards them. "Isn't all this fighting making you hungry?" Kitty rubbed her stomach but never took her eyes away from Kurt. "Some fruit might give you more energy." Kitty quickly glanced at the fruit bowl. Right on cue she turned her back to Kurt and started to reach for an orange. "But those peaches look so delicious, don't they?" Kitty directed her hand over to a peach and picked it up briefly (Matilda grinned knowingly). She set it back down on the pile of fruit as soon as she heard Kurt say something.

"Keety, couldn't ve just forget that this whole thing ever happened?" Kitty turned to look at him as though he just suggested that they forget her birthday.

"Kurt, how could you want to walk away from an argument just like that?" Kurt looked like a dog that knew he was about to get scolded; no matter what he said or did, he knew Kitty would be mad at him either way.

"I don't vant to valk avay Keety." He sighed, and looked from left to right at nothing. "I just vant to be forgiven so that everything can be as it vas."

"Kurt…" Kitty said, sounding very tired. She took a deep breath in before continuing. "Look, I realize it doesn't seem like a big deal to you or anyone else, but…" Kitty wasn't fully sure what to say next.

"Situation is becoming too wound down." Matilda placed the two bananas with the rest of the fruit and walked over to Kurt. "Hey, weren't you hungry?" Kurt had a yearning look in his eyes again. "How about some fruit? It looks awfully fresh today." Kurt looked over to the fruit bowl. Matilda smiled when she saw him automatically go for one of the bananas. He touched it briefly but set it back down as Kitty spoke again.

"Kurt, look at me. Stop letting your stomach take first priority over everything." Kitty said, in a beautiful cross between pathetic and annoyed.

"Kätzchen, I honestly do not know vhat more I can say to you. I have apologized, apologized, and apologized again, but it seems to make no difference to you. I'm not sure vhat it is that you vant of me." Kurt held his arms in a peaceful gesture.

Kitty sighed and was at a loss of words. She really didn't know what she wanted from him. Well, I want a lot of things from him but I don't know if he wants to hand those over to me, she thought. She looked back at Kurt, shook her head, and said, "I just want to be left alone right now." With that, she turned and left the kitchen; it was honestly the best thing she could come up with at the moment.

Kurt's shoulders slumped dramatically. He inhaled deeply before calling, "Keety… please vait a minute…" He teleported out of the kitchen to wait for her in her room, since that was obviously where she was headed.

Remy and Rogue were left in the kitchen. After fanning out the smell of sulfur and brimstone with their hands, they remained in silence. Remy glanced at an open bar stool next to Rogue and immediately began to go towards it; at that same instant, Rogue stood up and left her bagel forgotten on a little plate. Remy stopped going towards her (she stopped as well); he gave her a confused and accusing look and then began to walk towards her again. She then began to walk away from him.

Remy stopped walking, slumped his arms to the side, and said, "Ah don't believe dis! Y're avoidin' m'!" He spoke in the first person; the one clue needed to show that he was serious.

"Ah'm not avoiding you…" Rogue looked away, with a guilty expression on her face.

Remy looked at her with an eyebrow arched. "Now Ah know dat y' are." Rogue sat back down and tiredly rested her forehead on her hand. "Why y' want t' avoid Remy, chère? Did he say or do somethin' y' didn't like?" Rogue didn't answer him; she was intent on looking at the tile of the island. "Chère, please tell Remy what he did wrong."

It was the first time Rogue had heard Remy sound genuinely sad. She looked at him and saw that the expression on his face matched the tone in his voice. "Remy, you know what's the matter."

"Non, Ah don't chère."

Rogue bit her lip as she briefly looked back at the tile. "About what happened yesterday-"

"But chère, notin' happened yesterday." Remy said and Rogue looked at him incredulously.

"Remy, you know what happened yesterday-"

"But notin' happened yesterday dat Ah can think of dat would make y' mad at m'-"

"Remy LeBeau, you almost kissed meh!" Rogue finally shouted, at the loss of her patience. This outburst didn't even phase Remy.

"Oui, we almost kissed, but we didn't. So you see chère, notin' happened yesterday."

Rogue shook her head at him. "But we almost kissed, Remy."

"But we didn't. Dat's de difference, isn't it?"

"Remy, if Scott hadn't walked in we… Ah'm pretty sure that we would have kissed if he hadn't stopped us."

"Do y' have t' keep remindin' Remy of dat?" Remy said, almost grumbling.

"Ah, subject number one was annoyed at Scott's interference. Meaning he indeed wanted to kiss her." Matilda said, happily.

"Remy..." Rogue said sternly, as she stood and locked eyes with him. "What if he hadn't walked in when he did?"

Remy shrugged his shoulders casually and said, "Den we would have kissed."

Rogue was growing impatient with his carefree attitude about the subject. "Yeah, we would have kissed!" Remy looked intently back at her, displaying no sign of being bothered by this. "Remy, you could have kissed meh! You could have kissed meh, and then you would have been passed out on the floor or in a coma or you would have gone through a lot of pain and given meh that look like Ah'm a monster and Ah would have all these memories floatin' around inside of mah head that Ah don't want and-" Rogue had been speaking very fast before Remy was able to get his word in.

"Chère, listen. Remy here been through enough pain in his life to where he can take any kind of pain very well. 'Sides…" Remy gently set his hand on top of Rogue's gloved one. "think it'd all be worth it."

Rogue quickly snatched her hand away. Having the slight pressure of his hand on her own had been incredibly nice, but she had to be the strong one here. "That's the thing Remy. Ah know that you've had a lot of pain in your life. Ah've seen it, remember?" Remy cocked his head at her. "The reasons that Ah keep people away are selfish ones. Everyone has experienced pain that no one else should ever have to know, and each time Ah touch someone, Ah don't just get a taste, Ah get a four course meal of what goin' through that kind of pain is like. So you see, it's for the best that-" Rogue stopped speaking when she saw Remy loom in closer to her face; it was obvious that his goal was a kiss. Rogue promptly slapped a hand across his face; not very hard, but hard enough to get the point across. "You stupid Swamp Rat! Did you ignore everything Ah just said!"

Remy acted as though he wasn't even aware of the bright red mark on his left cheek. "Would y' be mad if Ah said 'yes'?" Rogue stared at him with the most angered and shocked expression on her face. "Chère, don't y' get it? All o' dat y' just said have been excuses y've been tellin' y'self for years just t' make things easier for y'." Rogue blinked a few times, and Remy noticed that her eyes had begun to water. Remy sighed (he never wanted to make her cry… ever). "Don't get m' wrong Rogue. Ah understand why y' do it."

"Oh? Then why do Ah makes excuses?" Rogue said, bitterly. The tears in her eyes continued to form and were threatening to fall.

"Wow, and I thought before was tense." Matilda said, looking between the two. "Time to provide some levity to the

situation." Matilda walked around behind Remy and waited for her moment.

"Y' do it because y're afraid of gettin' hurt. 'S dat simple. But let Remy tell y', chère, dat y're not de first one t' feel dat way."

Rogue turned her back to Remy as the first tear rolled down her cheek. She was beginning to hate when he was right. "You don't know anything about meh."

Remy sighed; he knew what he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure if it was right to say it to her right then. "Go ahead Remy. Let her know what's on your mind." Matilda's eyes wandered in the direction of the fruit bowl. "And while you're at it, you should eat something. Those bananas look good."

Remy looked at Rogue's back and spoke softly. "Well dat is partially true. Dis Cajun don't know 'nough 'bout y', but he'd like t' know more." He absently lifted the banana that Kurt had not touched (Matilda smiled broadly) and fiddled with it between his hands as he spoke. "Dat is, if y'll let 'im."

"Remy…" Rogue said softly; she didn't want him to hear her crying.

Remy placed the banana back on the fruit bowl, forgetting about his hunger instantly, and walked slowly up to Rogue. His hands began at her shoulders and then slid down and around her waist. He pulled her into his embrace until her back was pressed entirely into his chest. Rogue shut her eyes and allowed herself to feel the warmth coming off of him. God, this feels good, and this feels right, Rogue thought. Can we do this… "Only if y' let m' chère."

"Hey, he actually knew what she was thinking about! This means their connection's getting deeper."

Rogue sighed and let her chin drop to her chest. She spoke softly at first, as though she was convincing herself first. "No, Ah can't."

"Quoi?" Remy asked.

"No, Ah can't!" Rogue yelled, pulling herself out of his arms.

"Chère…"

"No Remy, this can't happen, okay? One of us will end up getting hurt if we try anything, and Ah'm not just talking about mah powers." Rogue sat back down on her seat. Without Matilda's suggestion, Rogue picked up the other peach that Kitty had not touched and began to fumble it between her gloved hands.

"That won't do." Matilda said, quietly. She walked up to the side of Rogue and said, "Do you really want to get peach juice on your gloves and have them be all sticky? You know that crap never washes out." Rogue visually grimaced and pulled off both her gloves and resumed touching the peach. "Perfect… all four are primed and ready to go." She looked between Rogue and Remy. "Carry on your discussion as much as you wish."

"Chère, how do y' know dat it won't work if y' won't even give it a shot?" Remy tried to say appealingly. "Know dere are ways dat we can work around it."

"Well, how do you know Ah even want to try something with you!" Rogue snapped suddenly. The instant the words left her mouth, she regretted saying them and it showed on her face. Out of all the people in this world, he's the one that I'd want to try something with, she thought. Why did I say that?

This time it was Remy who dropped his face to his chest with a small, bittersweet, ironic smile on his lips. Without saying a word, he walked past her and out of the kitchen.

Rogue watched him leave and she set the peach back in the bowl. Mad at herself now, she stood pulling her gloves back on and followed, calling, "Remy, wait! Ah was wrong to say that and you know it's not true!"

Matilda remained where she was, smiling a satisfied smile to herself. She didn't feel a need to even follow them. To the casual observer following her, one would believe that these little exchanges were setbacks to her overall plans. Au contraire. This in fact was the perfect set up to her present operation. "Now I just have to wait." She said, smiling at the four pieces of fruit that sat atop the bowl. "You little beauties are the keys to their freedom."

As if on cue, Amara and Jubilee walked into the kitchen in the midst of a conversation.

"I just think Prada has slightly more elegant evening wear." Amara said, both of them sitting down at the island.

"Are you kidding? Gucci is the only thing to wear at night!" Jubilee said, sounding shocked.

Matilda walked up behind to where she stood between them; neither took notice of her presence. She leaned forward into the space between the two, eyes focusing solely on the fruit, and said to them both, "Hey girls… you hungry?"

"Kätzchen, please…" Kurt said, mostly into the pillow. He was laying back on Kitty's bed, exhausted from arguing with her. "Can't ve skip to the making up part?"

"Kurt…" Kitty said sternly. She was leaning against her wall farthest from her bed with her arms crossed in front of her. They had closed the door after the Professor had mentally asked them to do so. She was staring at a Spongebob wall calendar waiting for him to speak again.

"Keety, please, just tell me vhat else you vant me to say?" Kurt said sitting up and looking at her pleadingly.

"All I want to hear from you Kurt-"

"Where de hell do y' get off? Dat's all I wanna know." Remy said, glaring at Rogue. They had exchanged remarks for most of the trip down the hall, until they reached Remy's room when they slammed the door shut. Now, Remy was letting out what he didn't say in the kitchen and Rogue was trying her best to apologize (not something that came easy for her in the first place).

"Remy, Ah'm sorry. You were trying to be nice to meh, and Ah threw it back in your face and Ah'm sorry." Rogue looked sincere about her apology, and after taking one look at her face, Remy wanted to forgive her and then some. But there were still a few things that he needed to say.

"Was tryin' t' be nice t' y'. An' y' did screw dat up. Big time." Rogue looked away from him, and he could tell that she wanted to open herself up to him. "Chère, y' confuse de hell outta dis Cajun (Rogue smiled inwardly at him using his pet name for her again). Sometimes, it seems like y' want what he want, but den y' go and pull somethin' like what happened in de kitchen. When y' talk to Remy like y' did, it become really hard t' have pity for y' chère."

"Ah don't want your pity Remy."

He took another step closer to her and made her look him in the eye. "Den just tell Remy once and for all what it is dat y' want from him… please?"

Rogue looked at him, and her lips gently parted. "Ah want…"

"So then I told Ray to like back off before Bobby freezes his nuts off." Jubilee said, waving her uneaten peach around as she spoke. "I swear, that guy suffers from OAS."

"OAS?" Amara said, about to take a bite out of her peach.

"Octopus Arms Syndrome." Amara nodded in understanding as she and Jubilee bit into their peaches at the same time.

Kitty didn't even get a chance to finish her sentence. As soon as she uttered Kurt's name, she jumped from where she was standing looking completely startled.

Kurt jumped a little himself when he heard Kitty let out a little yelp. He watched her as she looked at where she had been standing confusedly. "Was es ist?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"I…" Kitty trailed off and looked at him. She started to walk closer to him and looked back at her wall wearily. "I don't know…"

Rogue didn't exactly jump; she just stopped mid sentence when she felt the most odd sensation suddenly come from her legs. She held out her hands looking around the room for the possible source of the jolt.

"What is it?" Remy asked, wondering what could have caused her to stop mid sentence.

"Ah don't…" Rogue trailed off when she looked back at him. "Don't worry about it. It was… it was nothing."

"Mmmm. These peaches are yummy." Jubilee said happily.

"Aren't they? They're just perfect." Amara said, eyeing her bitten peach pleasurably.

"You don't mind if I don't talk while I eat this right?" Jubilee said, leaning in to take another bite.

"Sweetie, I was about to tell you the same thing…" Amara and Jubilee began to eat their peaches at the same time.

Okay, there was something wrong here. Kitty felt it again, and this time she couldn't hold in the moan that passed over her lips.

Kurt stood and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Keety, are you all right?"

"I… I don't know… it feels like someone's… oh." Kitty felt it again and leaned into Kurt's arms to steady herself. Kurt pressed a hand to the side of her face; she was beginning to grow warmer, and her cheeks were becoming flushed, and her breathing was increasing.

"Kätzchen, are you feeling sick?" That's when Kitty tossed her head back with a loud groan. Kurt suddenly realized that sick was the last thing she was. Her knees were starting to buckle and give out from beneath her, but Kurt held her tightly. "Mein Gott, are you…" Kurt held a hand firmly in the middle of her back and pressed the other one on the inside of her thigh; her legs were most definitely quivering. "Gott in himmel, you are!"

Kurt wasted no time in scooping her small form into his arms and laying her gently on her bed. He crouched beside her and loosened her hair from her ponytail. A fine sheen of perspiration had begun to cover her face. Kitty's hands were tugging erratically at the hem of her shirt, until one of them managed to pull half of it over one side of her bosom. Kurt couldn't stop the blush as his eyes came into view of one of Kitty's bra covered breasts (which Kurt thought were simply magnificent). Kitty let out a long, deep moan from the back of her throat as her pelvis started to come up off the bed. Kurt's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

Rogue shut her eyes and tried to keep her mouth shut. She really did try to contain herself. But after a few seconds, she just couldn't help the moan/scream that escaped. No, no, no, not in front of him, she kept thinking before her thoughts were no longer coherent.

Remy immediately knew what was going on with Rogue; after all, he had seen the expression on her face on many different women. He tried to step towards her, but she held her arms in front of her defensively. He couldn't believe she was still trying to keep him from touching her. He ignored her arms after she crouched to the floor, wailing like a banshee. Remy lifted her gently from behind her knees and then laid her down on the carpet. Her breath was starting to come in short gasps.

"Remy?" She softly called out in a short gasp. Her eyes were still clenched shut, but she could feel Remy sit close to her. "Remy, what's happening to meh?"

"Chère… y're comin'. Dat's all dat's happening right now. Don't know how it's possible, but…" Remy stopped when he noticed her gloved hand snaking down her front.

Rogue kept mumbling, "hot… too hot…" as her hand reached under the skirt she wore. When her other hand joined it, Remy could only watch as they slid a pair of black bikini panties down her legs to her knees.

Kitty bit her lip so hard that Kurt feared she might draw blood. Her eyes were shut so tightly that Kurt could clearly see the skin around her eyes crinkle. Her mouth was open letting out small pants, moans, groans, and some sounds that Kurt couldn't even identify. Her face was flushed and she seemed to be glowing from within. Her hair was fanned across the pillow that her head rested on. Kurt couldn't remember a time when she looked more beautiful.

"Keety…" He said, resting his hand on her shoulder, in a vain attempt to calm her down. There was no way that Kurt could have foreseen this backfiring. Another surge went through Kitty, and she clutched at his arms frantically. Kurt was amazed that someone so petite could have pulled him on top of her.

Kurt wasn't really sure what to do. It was one thing to be on top of Kitty, but it was another to have one of her legs wrapped around his waist and the other one tangled around his other leg. Safe to say he wasn't going anywhere, as there was no way he would teleport away from her now. It was when Kitty started grinding herself against Kurt did he panic. The source of panic being the idea that she could feel the growing stiffness between his legs. Kitty had her arms pulling Kurt hard against her. One hand was firmly pressed in the middle of his back, and the other hand was entangled in his hair, which kept his head right in the crook of her neck. The fact that he could feel her breath right against his extremely sensitive ear didn't help matters much.

"Kätzchen…" Kurt breathed. His cock was painfully hard at this point, and it was pressed against the heat between her legs. He could feel patches of her bare skin from where her shirt was partially off, and it took every ounce of will power that he had to resist the temptation of touching her blue satin encased breast. "Mein… Gott…"

"Rem… Remy…" Rogue was barely able to speak. "Will… will you pull off mah…" She let out a very throaty groan. "The… rest of the way?"

Remy was able to piece together what she wanted. With very careful and skilled fingers, he was able to pull off her panties without coming into contact with her skin. Only a thief, he thought to himself before his thoughts became fixated on two things: the beautiful girl writhing on his floor for no logical reason and the panties that he had just pulled off of her.

Smell them you idiot! A voice from his gutter mind called to him. He didn't need to smell them; he could smell her arousal from the distance he was at. He tossed her underwear towards his bed and studied her, wriggling in pleasure not even a foot away from him.

Remy LeBeau had been with many women, but never before had he been this turned on just by watching one in the throes of pleasure. He was convinced it was because she was Rogue. Everything about her set him on fire. Even when she was yelling at him back in the kitchen, he had thought she was incredible. He had never met a woman like Rogue before.

Wait, woman? Rogue was still a girl, she wasn't even eighteen yet. But then Remy looked back at her as she briefly opened her eyes to look back at him. He had never believed that a pair of eyes could look so alive. The green in her eyes were glittering more than any emerald he had seen before (he was a thief, he had seen his share). The look she gave him could only be described as lustful and… there was something else there too, but he couldn't quite determine what it was. Either way, the look she gave him was one that no girl could give. Rogue was indeed a woman.

And that same woman had just reached out her hand and clutched his thigh dangerously close to a certain part of his anatomy that instantly became hard. It was Remy's turn to groan, but the feeling was short lived as she almost instantly pulled her hand away again.

Kurt was convinced that he was going to die. The girl of his dreams was pressing the length of her body tightly against him, and he was unable (and unwilling) to stop it. The smell of her in general was beginning to be too much for him: the smell of her hair (flowers), her skin (lilacs), and her lips (strawberries). He didn't even realize that his tail had wrapped itself around her waist. If she kept grinding herself against him the way that she was, it wouldn't be long before he found himself in a very "sticky" situation.

Kurt lightly gasped when he felt hands caressing his muscular back. Kitty's small hands somehow managed to pull his shirt up to his shoulders before needing some additional assistance. Kurt wasn't entirely positive how he managed to muster enough brain power to lift his arms for her, but he managed somehow. He didn't fully care about that when her hands started running up and down his back. Her small fingers buried themselves in the thick blue fur that covered his body and he could feel her fingernails beginning to graze the skin that was buried beneath it all. He knew that if she kept that up that it wouldn't be long before he needed some kind of release.

Kitty stiffened suddenly beneath Kurt. She arched her body so much that she was pretty much propped up by her head leaning back against her pillow. Kurt had never felt anything so perfect when she tightened her legs around him and held still for a few seconds. Then she let out a long, drawn out groan that felt like it had been building inside of her for years. This was followed by several small grunts, screams, pants, and groans. She finally fell back on her bed, spent, with Kurt still on top of her, aroused but amazed.

Remy really wasn't sure what to do with himself: he had a raging hard on that had just become harder due to her brief contact with him, and it was only growing harder watching her run her hands up and down her form. All he could think to do with himself was sit there, and watched completely mesmerized as she did the most natural dance known to man.

It would be so easy, he thought. This is the latex age after all, and I'm wearing pants and a long sleeve shirt. We could make love right now and she wouldn't say no. She opened her eyes and looked at him again, and it became clear that she was thinking the same thing. It was clear that she wanted it too. His hands hand been resting on his thighs, and they began to itch to reach for her. When he looked back in her eyes, though, any such thoughts were quickly dispelled from his mind. Somehow, without his knowing, he had started to like Rogue; it would be wrong to take her now, with her in such a state, and just have it be over so quickly. She deserved to feel something.

Rogue felt like she deserved to feel something too, but she wasn't going to deny the urge. Remy certainly wasn't expecting her to reach out with her hand and pull him by the collar of his shirt down towards her. He was just a mere few inches from her face; they could both feel each other's breath on their lips. Still clutching his collar, Rogue gathered all her strength and was able to push Remy back to where she was straddling his waist. He was sure that he would come right then when he felt the heat of her arousal against his stomach.

Rogue started tugging at his collar; Remy wasn't sure what she wanted until he heard the loud rip. The sound continued as Rogue proceeded to rip his shirt down his torso and then tugged it away from his body. Rogue had quickly scooted her lower body down to his pelvis before risking skin contact. Her gloved hands began to greedily run up and down his flawless chest and abs.

Rogue arched unnaturally suddenly. Her hands gripped his shoulders almost to the point of bruising. She shut her eyes tightly as the heat that had been building and spreading throughout her body became too much. Her mouth parted and she let out a small gasp; if Remy had no idea what had been going on really, he could have sworn that she was about to start crying. She threw her head back and her hair flipped with it, and Remy saw her gorgeous white neck extended… it looked so kissable, that resisting the temptation was almost irresistible. She screamed, grunted, and groaned for what seemed like an eternity before she slumped forward on top of Remy's body.

"Mmm, mmm!" Amara said, as she licked her fingers of the peach juice. "Those peaches were almost orgasmic!"

"I think Rogue and Kitty would beg to differ on the 'almost' part of that sentence." Matilda said, with a giggle as she looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey, Elle just named the best designer for evening wear this season. I'll show you that I'm right!" Jubilee said, making a motion with her head towards the door.

"All right, fine. I think that Vogue is more of an authority when it comes to high fashion, but if you insist." The two girls left the kitchen, completely unaware of the bizarre occurrence that happened on the floor above them that they unknowingly caused. It was an occurrence that was about to happen twice.

"It's not that I don't like Halo. I just thought that Metroid Prime was cooler." Bobby said to Sam, as they both sauntered into the kitchen.

"Oh, you only liked it 'cause it had a chick in it. Halo had a chick in it." Sam said, shaking his head dismissively.

The two boys conveniently sat down at the island, right across from the fruit. Matilda grinned mischievously. Eyes intent on the two bananas, she stood between them and said, "Hey boys… in the mood for some potassium?"

Kurt waited until Kitty's breathing had calmed down before he made an attempt to sit up. The grip that her legs had had on him had loosened substantially, but there was still one problem, and it was between his legs.

Kurt tried to will his erection away. A shaved Chewbacca, watching open heart surgery on television, Don Vito, Logan in a thong, that scene from The Re-Animator, Don Vito naked- That did the trick. Kurt propped himself on his elbows beside Kitty's head and sat up partially. He stopped when he saw Kitty looking straight into his eyes.

Her face was glowing, her cheeks were faintly red, a select few pieces of her hair were sticking to the side of her face, but what struck him the most were her eyes: they looked so… alive. The blue just made him think of a tumbling ocean. Any attempts made to cool himself off were instantly forgotten and replaced with new thoughts. Kitty, Kitty writhing beneath me, Kitty writhing beneath me naked, Kitty dancing, Kitty dancing naked, Kitty belly dancing, Kitty belly dancing naked, Kitty, Kitty naked, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty!

"Kurt!" Kitty finally said, pushing him off of her. She had felt his obvious growing wood against her hip. She could tolerate him being turned on by seeing her orgasm but she wouldn't tolerate him getting turned on just by looking at her.

Oh. My. God. Kitty had just remembered the fact that Kurt had just watched her have a mind blowing orgasm. Oh wait, it wasn't just watching. She had pulled him on top of her, and she had partially gotten off on him. Oh God.

For a minute, they both just sat there, about one and a half feet away from each other, looking straight ahead, not daring to look in each other's direction… yet.

They must have been connected on the same wavelength, as they both started to slowly turn their heads towards each other. Kitty's eyes widened the minute they made contact with Kurt's yellow eyes. She always felt naked when she looked into his eyes. They were the color of the halos that angels wore, and somewhere in the back of her mind she felt like she could hide nothing from those eyes, because nothing can be hidden in the presence of angels.

And there was never a time before where she could have felt more naked. She couldn't believe that she had just… done THAT right in front of HIM! Why did it have to be HIM of all people? She hadn't even let stupid Lance see her in that position, and now the one person who she wanted to see her in a passionate state had seen her, and would be all grossed out and make fun of her for coming like a horny little schoolgirl. Had she said, "Oh God" enough?

"Keety…" Kurt said very softly. Kitty promptly turned her head away from him and his angel eyes. "Keety… are you… um… are you all right?"

Wow, talk about the understatement of the year! There was no way Kitty could have ever recreated that kind of pleasure on her own and having Kurt there had only made it better. For a brief second, she forgot about her humiliation and wondered how earth shattering it would have been had it been Kurt causing her all the good feelings she had. "Um… I think I'm okay Fuzzy."

If Kurt had not just witnessed the most amazing thing since sliced bread, he would have felt thankful that she was no longer mad at him for their previous argument and had reverted to calling him by the pet name she had given him a while ago. But that whole incident had been blown straight out of his mind by the image of Kitty's face as she peaked that seemed to keep popping into his head each time he blinked, breathed, or moved.

"Uh, Keety… vhat exactly happened to you just now?" Kurt said, looking at her tentatively.

"I… uh… I…" Kitty suddenly buried her face in her hands. "God, I don't know!" She said, helplessly.

"Keety… Keety, it's all right." Kurt said soothingly. He scooted closer to her and began to comfortingly run his hand along her back.

"Oh God, Kurt… please, don't tell anybody about this?" Kitty looked at him slowly; her face was flushed from embarrassment, and her eyes looked like they were about to start crying.

"Kätzchen, I swear to God and all angels and saints available that this incident shall die vith me-" Kurt stopped and jolted in his seat. That was odd. It felt like someone just-

"Oh Gott…" Kurt said, as it happened again. He clutched the edge of the bed and stared at the ceiling. What was…

"Kurt?" Kurt was suddenly reminded of Kitty's presence. "Kurt, are you okay?" And how close she was to him at the moment.

She gripped his shoulders gently and tried to look him in the eye. It was like staring into the ocean. "Keety…" He said through gritted teeth. "I think that I must be-" A groan passed through his lips and he fell backwards on her bed.

Kitty had a clear view of the massive bulge between Kurt's legs that only seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Though she had never seen anything like this before, she knew exactly what was happening. "Oh my God… what the hell is going on around here?"

Rogue opened her eyes cautiously. Oh God… did I just… oh God! Her thoughts were practically shouting in her head. Her full lips were still parted; she suddenly realized that she was on top of something, or, more appropriately, someone. Slowly, she drew her eyes down to look at him. Oh God… I didn't just do that… in front of HIM, did I?

Remy's eyes looked straight back into Rogue's. Small pants were coming through a closed mouth and his chest was slowly rising and falling with each breath. But his eyes… oh, his eyes! She had never seen them look more beautiful. The red of his eyes looked as though they contained flames. His eyes just looked at her… hungrily.

It was clear what he was thinking about: she could see it in his eyes… and she could feel it pressing up against her womanhood. She could feel it through the fabric of his jeans, and she wanted more. It was in this moment that Rogue figured out exactly what she wanted from Remy LeBeau… she wanted him. All of him. All that he had to offer to her. She wanted this, but she knew that she could never get this.

Remy propped his arms behind him and hoisted himself up slightly, never breaking eye contact; if he did, the spell would be broken between them, and she would go back to keeping her distance, which was worse than anything he could possibly think of.

His face was so close to hers. Her eyes… those breath taking, emerald eyes… looked uncertain and innocent. He would remove any uncertainty she had.

Remy had fully sat up and Rogue was sitting in his lap. He took both of his hands and tangled them in her hair, safely away from her skin. He gently started to pull her closer to his face. He knew what he wanted from her and he was going to get it from her right then and there. He wanted a kiss: just one kiss, that's all it would take and she would let the walls crumble and she would open herself to him. Just from one kiss.

CRASH. "Oh no! I really hope that wasn't old or expensive!" They heard Jamie's voice say from outside the door, following what sounded like a very big vase breaking all across the floor.

"It was probably both." They heard Rahne reply. Someone could almost hear them turning their heads to look at each other before they shouted in unison, "RUN!"

After listening to the sound of thumping footsteps for a few minutes, Rogue sighed. Remy knew what that meant: the spell was broken. It was a matter of moments before Rogue began to shift from her position to move off of Remy. Remy quickly made a grab for her sleeved arms and held her firmly where she was.

"Chère… you feel fine right where you are." He said, trying to appeal to her.

Rogue looked down, and didn't meet his eyes as she said, "Let go of me, Remy."

"Non." Remy said, simply shaking his head.

"Remy…" Rogue said, trying to contain her patience.

"Not yet at least." Remy dipped his head to try and meet her mouth. She quickly jerked her head away. He tried again; she turned away. "Chère, please… ain't gonna hurt y'." He tried again to kiss her, but she still turned her head away.

"Remy, Ah said no." She said, not ready to meet his eyes yet.

"Look at m' and say dat." Remy was almost startled when she turned her eyes to look at him. There was longing there, and regret too. She looked so sad in her eyes, but the rest of her face was expressionless. She shook her head and silently mouthed "no".

Remy bowed his head, sighed, and released Rogue's arms from his grip. She promptly stood and straightened her skirt over her legs. He remained on the floor, not really looking up at her. She could still plainly see his flawless upper body, and thought about how good it felt to be touching it, even if it was through gloves. She looked down at the floor: the remnants of his shirt were still where she had tossed them, and her discarded panties were a couple of feet from his bed.

Before Rogue could reach down and collect her underwear, she heard Remy speak. "Y' never fail to wound dis Cajun daily."

Rogue turned to look at him; he was standing now and stretching his arms over his head. It was all she could do to keep from drooling as she watched his muscles flex with each movement. It took a few before she could find her ability to speak again. "And how did Ah wound you today?"

Remy just looked at her. Then he walked over to where she was and only continued to look at her. He took a deep breath in and was about to speak when-

"Mon Dieu!" Remy said so suddenly that Rogue jumped back a couple of steps. Remy's hands were hovering closely over his manhood wondering what could have caused that sudden surge of- "Mon Dieu!"

"Remy, will you stop shouting in mah face!" Rogue said. Then she noticed that his eyes were shut and he had one hand resting on his dresser. He appeared to be taking deep breaths in and out. His other hand, however, was tenderly hovering over the growing erection that was in his pants.

"Chère?" Remy managed to say hoarsely. Rogue could only gape stupidly at this bizarre phenomenon.

Kurt was breathing so hard that Kitty thought he was going to hyperventilate. She sat on the back of her legs and looked up and down the length of his body. She tried to keep her thoughts on their current situation, but she couldn't help but think about how beautifully built Kurt was. She knew that right then really wasn't the best time to be thinking about such things, but she really wasn't sure what to do. Do I just sit here and watch (God, his arms are perfect!)? Do I go to try and find some help (his abs put like all other abs to shame!)? Would Dr. McCoy know what was up (even his man nipples are dark blue!)? Do I let him rub up against me like I did him (that would feel so good, I love his fur!)? Kitty blushed at that last thought. She watched Kurt's eyes shut as he let out another groan. I can't just sit here and do nothing!

Another jolt went through Remy and he lost his grip on his dresser. He pressed his back against the wall and just stayed there. He looked like he stopped breathing for a moment, but then he let out a group of small, quick pants which led to another deep, drawn out groan. Rogue felt her throat go dry. As if it wasn't embarrassing enough that he had just witnessed her coming, now she had to endure the same show. She walked closer to where he was and looked at him helplessly. She had an idea of what he was going through at the moment. For a moment, she almost reached out her hands to him but then reminded herself that she shouldn't touch him. Fuck, what am I supposed to do? She thought.

"God, there's no way these two girls can be this naïve." Matilda thought. She left the kitchen briefly and stood in the middle of the hall. She used her hands to amplify her voice and shouted at the two girls, "You know if you don't do something quick there's going to be a real mess in his pants! And trust me, guys are more embarrassed by blowing their wad in their pants than they are by wetting themselves!"

Kitty gulped audibly. She knew what she had to do, but she had to prep herself for a few minutes to do it. It's not that big of a deal Kitty, she told herself, silently. You're just going to pull off his pants… and his underwear… and he's going to be naked. It's not like you haven't seen a naked man before. You've seen them in textbooks and on the occasional visit to an X-rated site. You just… haven't seen one in person. But it's no big deal, it's just Kurt! You know the general outline of the anatomy, you can do this, you can do this… "I can do this." She said aloud to herself.

Kitty stood from the bed and leaned over Kurt's body. With very clumsy, nervous, and inexperienced fingers, she began to fumble with the button of Kurt's pants. When she finally got them undone, she hooked her fingers into both his pants and his boxers.

When Kurt felt her fingers against his fur, he forced himself to pull his head up just enough to look at her by propping his elbows behind him. "Keety?..." He said, breathlessly. "Vhat… vhat are you..."

"Kurt, I'm only doing this for you, not for me, okay?" She bit her lip and closed her eyes and quickly uttered a small "I'm really sorry" before she began to pull both his pants and his underwear down his body. She was a little surprised when she found that they stopped about in the middle of his pelvis. "Why?..." She realized that they were… ahem… "caught" and that she would have to do some special maneuvering. She took her time getting the pants and boxers cough "unhooked" and was able to pull his pants down over his legs, and completely off over his oddly shaped feet. She tossed the khaki pants and the blue boxer briefs away from her bed, and slowly climbed back onto her bed beside, her eyes making a conscious effort to avoid "that".

But there was a reason why people called her Kitty. She had certain similarities to a cat, physically and personality wise. And everyone knows about cats and curiosity…

Kitty stared intently at Kurt's face, and was pleased to see that his "come face" didn't look remotely as silly as most of the girls in the mansion claimed that men's tend to be. Then again, the girls in the mansion claimed a lot of things about the guys living there including talk about certain parts of their anatomy. Kitty wondered if what they said about Kurt was true. A blush started to creep into her cheeks as she turned her eyes then her face to get a quick look at Kurt Junior.

Rogue felt that it was the right thing to do. He pulled off my panties for me and resisted the temptation to look at anything, the least I can do is repay the favor, she thought. But it's a different thing for guys and girls, and he may get the wrong idea if I do this, unless…

"Remy?" Remy had leaned his head back against the wall, and was gasping and panting with his eyes closed softly. "Remy." Remy opened his eyes, and it took all his strength to pull his head up enough to look at her. "Listen… don't get the wrong idea, but… Ah'm going to have to pull down your pants." Remy raised his eyebrows despite his current state. "Don't get excited; it's not like that! Ah'm only doing it so you won't have the guys calling you 'Spunky Brewster' whenever you walk down the halls, okay?"

Rogue gently dropped to her knees. His groin was right in front of her face. A part of her wasn't looking forward to this; it would mean coming into contact with him and she might be tempted to take him up on whatever he wanted to offer her. The other part of her was practically giddy with excitement at the prospect of seeing all of Remy; though she had to admit, this wasn't how she pictured viewing her first naked man up close. Oh well, now or never!

Rogue slipped her hands up to his belt and began to undo the buckle. That being done, she nervously unbuttoned his jeans and hooked her fingers into both his underwear and pants. She held her breath as she slid his pants and boxer briefs down his legs, being mindful of his engorged member (she didn't get a good look at it yet).

Because Remy was standing, Rogue couldn't get his pants off all the way. "Remy? Remy you think you can-" Remy's reply was a deep, guttural moan. "Okay, he's officially no help." Rogue tentatively reached out with her hand and lifted one foot out of the offending garments and then did the same to the other. She didn't look up just yet; she bowed her head and took a few deep breaths. Then she turned her eyes up at the man in front of her.

In the time that they've known each other, this was the first time that Kitty and Rogue ever had the exact same thought at the exact same time.

"Holy Crap, he's huge!" The locker room rumors obviously didn't do either boy justice in that department.

"Yeah, that's great, his pants are off. Now what are you gonna do when Old Faithful erupts? There's going to be a mess that you can't clean up and Logan will wonder what you were doing when he spots that stain on your shirt…" Matilda waited a few minutes for the girl's thoughts to respond. They both had similar concerns, but in not as many words. "You have to put a condom on him! That's the only thing that will do the job properly."

The girls expressed their concerns, which were mostly "Where am I going to find a condom?"

Matilda rolled her eyes and called back, "All guys keep a condom somewhere on their person's, just in case. It's usually in his-"

Kitty flopped down on her belly on the bed as she reached for Kurt's discarded pants. She pulled out one pocket and then the other; in the second one, she found his wallet. She hurriedly fumbled through the contents of the flap of expensive brown leather. She found about twenty dollars in cash, his drivers' license, his Beatles fan club membership card, his library card, a picture of his parents, a picture of her (she stopped for a second to marvel at the fact that he liked to keep her wherever he went), a credit card, and finally a silver foiled Crown condom.

Kitty pulled herself back on the bed. As she tore open the little silver package, her eyes again locked on to "that" part of Kurt. She still couldn't believe that indeed all of him was blue (although it did make sense, it was still remarkable to see in person) or at how big he was. She had once felt Lance's erection on her hip through his pants, and she knew that there was no comparison between him or Kurt.

Kitty bit her lip for what seemed like the hundredth time that day when she realized that she would have to actually… touch it… in order to put the condom on. Could I get him to do it? She thought. Looking at him gave her the answer: he was panting and his hands covered his furry blue face and were going further to tangle themselves in his hair. Probably not, she thought.

Kitty took a deep as she accepted her responsibility. She began muttering to herself the steps to putting on a condom that she had learned in sex ed at school. "Okay, pinch tip of condom. Begin at tip of erect penis…" Kitty swallowed hard as she placed the condom at the tip of Kurt's cock. "And roll down smoothing any air bubbles as you go." Kitty formed a ring with her thumb and index finger and rolled the condom down Kurt, blushing furiously as she felt him pulsating beneath her fingertips. It didn't go unnoticed to her that Kurt's breathing quickened as soon as she touched him.

As soon as the condom was on, Kitty made the attempt to move her hand. She wasn't even an inch away from him when Kurt suddenly reached forward and made her wrap her hand fully around him. Kurt pulled his hand away from her, and it occurred to her that she could move her hand as well. But she didn't. She just left her hand there wrapped tightly around the base of his length. She just said one thing: "Oh. My. God."

Rogue was glad that she hadn't put Remy's pants too far out of reach. She dipped into a pocket and pulled out his black leather wallet. After rifling through an insane amount of money in cash, four credit cards, his motorcycle license, his drivers license, a remarkable amount of girls' phone numbers written on everything from napkins to business cards (grumble, grumble), she finally saw the edge of a foil wrapped condom. When she pulled it out, she wasn't expecting it to be a part of a roll of a dozen Durex High Sensation condoms. "Geez Remy, do you have this much sex daily?" She shook her head as she tore one off, and replaced the others in his wallet. "Well at least they're the 'ribbed for her pleasure' kind." Rogue tore open the black foil and turned back to look in the eye of the task in front of her… literally.

Removing one glove, Rogue pulled the condom out of its package and began to roll it down Remy's length. She hadn't gotten very far when she realized that this was a job that required both hands, so she used her teeth to pull off her other glove. She continued to roll the condom down his massive, swollen penis. When her hands first touched him, she couldn't believe how warm he was beneath the latex. Warm and smooth…She finally reached the base; she had done her job.

Rogue sat on the back of her legs, and looked up and down at Remy. My God, he's beautiful, she thought. Her tongue absently darted out to lick her lips as she continued to watch him. Why is a man this perfect pursuing a girl that can't even touch him? But, oh, how she wanted to touch. But would she ever admit that to him? Of course not.

Rogue knew that if she accepted, Remy could offer her the world and everything that he could give to her. But what could she offer him? He's very physical in his relations with women, that much she knew, so how could she ever hope to make him satisfied? It was a simple answer: she couldn't.

Rogue felt something at the back of her head. She looked up and saw that Remy had extended his arm and had slid his fingers into her hair. She was afraid for a moment that he might try and force her to do… something. But she didn't feel him pushing her forward. All she felt was his hand entangled in her hair, rubbing a few strands between his fingers. She waited a moment more; his hand remained gentle in her hair and he just remained leaning against the wall. As she took note of his increased breathing, she realized that he really meant that everything was her choice when it came to them. Wait… did she just say "them"!

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod!" Kitty kept saying to herself. Kurt had begun to jerk his hips forward involuntarily. She didn't move her hand from where it was, and she was amazed at the sight of her having her hand wrapped around "it". It was surreal almost. Lance had begged her to do half of what she was doing to Kurt (touch him through his pants), and she had always promptly turned him down, claiming that she wasn't that kind of a girl. She still didn't feel like that kind of a girl, so why was she giving Kurt half of a hand job?

Kurt's breathing stopped momentarily, causing Kitty to turn and look at him. His eyes clenched shut, he threw his head back suddenly and grunted. Kitty felt his hips buck against her hand (she didn't dare turn her head away to look), and after a few more seconds, he slumped back on her bed panting.

Rogue oddly enough was looking past Remy's very obvious manhood and staring straight at his face. He had opened his demon eyes and was staring back into hers. This, she realized, was the closest that they were ever going to get. There was no future for them, as she could give him nothing. She couldn't make love to him, she couldn't give him a family, hell she couldn't even give him a kiss. This was the closest to she would ever be to true intimacy with the Cajun, so she might as well enjoy and savor this moment.

Rogue stared intently at Remy's face as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The hand that he had in her hair gripped her strands gently. He gritted his teeth and the lines formed around his face. Rogue didn't look down as he came to, she knew, what must have been an incredible high. She sighed regretfully, knowing that it was a feeling that she would never be able to give to him.

Kurt blinked a few times, trying to figure out what just happened to him. Kitty quickly removed her hand as soon as he was done and pulled her knees up to her chest. At the moment, she was just staring at the wall trying to figure what just happened to her. Okay, she thought calmly to herself, I came in front of Kurt, he came in front of me, and we both used each to get off. Kitty's grip around her legs grew tighter after reiterating to herself the chain of events that had led her to this moment.

Kurt mustered enough strength to sit up. Suddenly very self conscious of his state of nudity, he very quietly slipped off the condom and tried not to be noticeable when he tossed it in the waste pail beside Kitty's bed. Not brave enough to look at Kitty yet, he looked around the room for his clothes. It was Kitty who spoke first just as Kurt was about to reach for his pants.

"Kurt, we need to talk." Kitty said (very original opening line) still not looking at him.

"Um… I don't think that it vould be a very good idea right now-"

"Kurt, please don't dart around this. Something really weird happened just now and we need to talk about it whether you like it or not." Kitty finally turned to look at him; he was sitting in a way that she couldn't see anything bad and he was using his hands and his tail to separate his underwear from his pants. Kitty was trying to ignore the fact that her mouth had begun to drool once she caught glimpse of Kurt's perfect muscular form.

"I'm not darting around this Kätzchen. I just think that now vould not be a good time to talk about-" Kurt stopped speaking; he kind of had to. It's hard to focus when you're naked and a girl just pushed you on your back.

Kitty straddled Kurt's waist and held his wrists beside either side of his head with her hands. She looked pissed as she was looking into his eyes. "Kurt, you are not going to walk away from this that easily! You know what I want to do, and I'm not going to let you go until you do exactly what I say!" Kitty had been shouting so loud that she didn't even hear the footsteps coming towards her door until it was too late; the door had swung open suddenly.

"Kitty, what the hell are you screaming about-" Tabitha stopped as she looked at the scene before her: Her eyes darted between Kurt lying down on Kitty's bed with his head at the foot of it and Kitty straddling him, their expressions perfectly mirroring two deer caught in the headlights, Kitty's disheveled hair and her partially pulled off shirt, Kurt's clothes strewn across the floor, an open condom wrapper on her nightstand, a used condom that was hanging off the edge of her waste pail, and of course the fact that Kurt was buck ass naked, but with Kitty straddling him and the position they were on the bed, his naughty bits were shielded from her view. Her eyes widened and a massive smile stretched across her features. "Oh. My. God!" She said laughing, not even trying to contain her excitement.

Kitty and Kurt both looked around and recalled what Kitty had yelled before Tabitha entered and realized what this scene implied. "Um…" Kitty really wasn't sure what to say to Tabitha, who was standing in the doorway, holding her sides in a vain attempt to contain her laughter. So Kitty said a phrase that for once was the honest to God truth. "This isn't what it looks like." It only made Tabitha crack up harder.

Rogue stood when she knew that Remy was done. She turned her back to him and rubbed her arms; she was itching for touch of any kind.

"Whoo…" Remy said, shaking his head amazedly. "Now dat was somethin' Ah wasn't expectin'." He removed the condom and tossed it into his waste basket and looked around the room for his clothes. He found that his pants hadn't been too far away from where he stood and pulled on his black boxer briefs first and then his jeans. He took a quick side glance at Rogue as he fastened his belt but when he saw her, he couldn't stop staring.

It was true that her back was to him, but the way she stood… he had never seen her look more lonely. He looked at her arms and noticed that she wasn't wearing her gloves; he looked to his feet and saw them discarded on the floor. His first thought was to give them to her, but he just couldn't bring himself to. It would break his heart to watch her eyes, that just a few moments ago looked so alive, go hazed over with sadness as she entered her prison cell again.

They both just stood there for a moment, neither making a move, neither speaking. It seemed like neither wanted to be the brave one at the moment.

"Remy?" Remy was startled to hear her speak at last but he looked up at her. She was turning to face him; her eyes had this loneliness that Remy had never seen before, but it seemed to vanish when she fully looked into his eyes. It was replaced by something that he had never seen before and couldn't really tell what it was. He was expecting her to want to talk about what happened, so he was surprised by what she ended up saying. "Can we start watching movies together as a regular thing?"

"Quoi?"

"Yeah, Ah never told you that Ah a lot of fun yesterday just watching a movie with you. Ah was hoping that maybe we could have that be our thing. You know, Kitty and Kurt watch movies together all the time, so Ah was thinking that could be the thing we do as friends." Rogue finally took a breath after getting out all of that. Remy got the point pretty clear.

"So dat's what y' want from m' chère? Just friendship?" Remy's voice sounded half happy, and half heart broken. Half happy because she did want him for something, half heart broken because it wasn't what he wanted her to want from him.

Rogue paused; she was about to tell an outright lie to the only person who had the ability to see right through her. "Yeah… just friendship." She couldn't hide the sadness in her voice even if she wanted to. Of course she didn't want just friendship, but it was better to be close but not close enough to get hurt… or so she had convinced herself.

Remy sighed realizing that he wouldn't get anything else out of her for now, so for the first time in his life, Remy decided to settle for what he could get at the moment. "Remy'll take what he can get." He said with a smile. She smiled back at him.

I don't want you to take what you can get, Rogue thought behind her smile. I want you to demand more, I want you to need more. I don't want you to settle. I want you to prove everyone right by being a bad person and making me give more of myself to you… I don't want you to be the better man right now.

Remy sat down on his bed and picked up the remains of his shirt. "Well chère, safe to say dat y' did quite a number on ol' Remy's shirt." He said, with an amused smile on his face. The expression on her face screamed "dear God, I hope it wasn't your most favorite and/or expensive shirt." Remy smiled at her and said, "Don' worry petite, got six more jus' like dis in de closet."

Rogue smiled gratefully but didn't speak. She sat down beside him on the bed and faced him for a few seconds. What she did next surprised them both.

Rogue slipped her naked hand carefully into Remy's hair without coming into contact with his skin. She gently pulled the side of his face towards her, and placed a short, gentle, sweet kiss on his cheek right above his stubble. Remy only felt a little light headed (and some of it wasn't due to Rogue's powers) and Rogue only got the feeling of delight that he felt in having her soft lips against his skin, plus something else that she wasn't aware of at the moment.

She pulled back from him and they just looked at each other. She smiled at him warmly but he couldn't help but notice the regret in her eyes. "Thanks Remy." It was obviously not just for being so understanding about the shirt.

Remy then followed suit with a smile. It was a smile that quickly faded and he looked scornfully at the door.

"What is it?" Rogue asked, looking confused.

"Scotty's about t' barge in here." He said, looking at her disappointedly.

"How do you know that?" Rogue asked, with some amusement in her voice.

"'Cause he barges in here 'bout twelve times a day." He gave her a good look over. "Twenty if he can' find y'."

"Why would Ah have anything to do with Scott?" Rogue asked, not really believing Remy.

"Y' have notin' t' do wit him. It's 'cause he's got a thing for y'." Remy said, sounding a little angry at this information.

Rogue laughed. "What? Scott is not interested in meh, he's with Jean."

"Oh he's absolutely head over heels in love wit Jean. But he's still got a thing for y'." Remy said casually.

"Remy, Scott does not have a thing for meh, and he's not about to barge-" Just as the words left Rogue's mouth, Scott swung open the door and stepped into the room. "in here."

Scott looked at a very shirtless Remy lounging casually with a gloveless Rogue on his bed. He then looked at Remy's ripped shirt on the floor, Rogue's discarded panties, her gloves tossed carelessly on the floor, the used condom inside the waste basket, and of course Rogue's eyes. It definitely set the scene for what he thought that they had been doing.

"What the fuck were you two doing in here!" Scott yelled. Rogue could tell that he was doing his best to restrain himself from lunging at Remy.

"Nothing! Not that it's any of your business but we were just talking."

"Chère…" Remy said cautiously.

"Oh right, 'just talking' my ass! You two were doing something in here, I just know it!"

"Scott, shut up! Ah'm not your stupid responsibility and everything in this room can be explained!" Rogue said, getting pissed herself.

"Petite…" Remy said urgently through gritted teeth.

"Rogue, don't try to make me look an idiot! I know that he tried to do something to you, you can't lie for him!"

"Scott…" Rogue said menacingly.

"Rogue!" Remy finally had her attention. Rogue turned to him, her angered face suddenly soft and curious. "He can tell dat we did indeed touch."

"How could he possibly tell that-" Rogue was cut off when Remy pointed at something in behind her. She turned and saw that he was pointing at the mirror that sat atop his dresser. She could instantly see what he was talking about. From the small, chaste kiss that she gave him, Rogue's eyes had turned to red on black. "Oh." She said. Defeated she turned to look at Scott again. Sheepishly she said, "Ah guess Ricky and Ah have some serious 'splainin to do, huh?"

"Oh my God, they're going to get into so much trouble!" Tabitha whispered excitedly to Amara. After Tabitha saw Kurt and Kitty in their achoo "compromising" position, she immediately proceeded to tell everyone in the house, as Scott did about Remy and Rogue. Now the four perpetrators were sitting together on the library sofa with every other student in the Institute standing around whispering happily to each other while they awaited the imminent arrival of all four teachers. Rogue had her gloves back on, Remy and Kurt were both fully dressed again, and Kitty had her hair back in her ponytail. Both girls were in the middle with Remy and Kurt sitting on the edges. All four of them were staring straight ahead wishing that they were anywhere but here.

Scott had been lecturing the four since they had assembled in the library. They had honestly stopped listening since before Scott opened his mouth. Scott was most certainly in his element as he paced in front of them and let the words come out of his mouth at a remarkable rate. "-And in a place where children live! I mean honestly, how can you hope to set examples for the next generation of young mutants if you four are jumping each others' bones whenever a door's closed! I don't even want to know how Rogue and Gambit managed to do anything-"

"This is so humiliating." Kitty muttered to Rogue.

"Ah hear that." She replied.

"We didn't do anything wrong either." Kitty said, this time to Kurt.

"They don't know that. All evidence points towards vhat they're thinking and I don't think that ve'll be able to convince them othervise." Kurt said, miserably.

"It don't matter what dey think mon amis." Remy said, sounding calmer than the other three. "De only person dat we should be worried 'bout conveniently is de one who can read our minds."

"If you had any decency at all, you would have not participated in such disgusting behavior and not even thought about having-"

"That. Is. Enough." A very firm voice interrupted Scott. All chattering of any kind ceased. No one needed to turn around to know that the Professor had entered the room.

The Professor, Logan, Hank, and Ororo circled around the sofa and faced the four accused. "Let me begin by saying that there is indeed no written rule against having intimate relations with other students on campus." All students looked up at the Professor surprised. "But it is highly recommended that you keep said activities on a confidential level." Of course he heard what the four were thinking and said, "That is precisely why there are locks on the doors."

A few students stifled giggles while Kitty and Rogue blushed. Kurt bowed his head, but Remy looked steadfast at the Professor; it was a rare day when Remy LeBeau was ashamed of anything. "Now myself and my fellow instructors have inspected the," the Professor cleared his throat, "crime scenes and have come to a rather surprising conclusion:" All students leaned forward in anticipation. "Nothing happened."

It was the expected reaction from the students. Most of them were whispering incredulously to each other, but Scott chose to rise from his seat. "What! Professor, I saw it myself and it's so incredibly obvious that-"

"Scott…" The Professor stated slowly. He looked around the room and it seemed as though it was the first time that all the younger students were present. "Why are all of you in here?"

No one had the guts to reply. Logan stepped forward and said, "Announcing adult swim. All children out of the pool." The kids grumbled and began to file out of the room. "You should be packing anyway. We leave at five in the A.M." He called after them.

He noticed that Kitty and Kurt were about to stand and leave when he said, "Except for you two."

The only people left were the four teachers, Scott and Jean, and of course Kurt, Kitty, Rogue and Remy.

"Professor, how can you say nothing happened? I saw Remy and Rogue's room with my own eyes, and there's no denying what-" It was the second time that day that Scott was cut off short by the Professor.

"Scott, something did happen but it was nothing sexual." The Professor received a lot of strange looks from everyone, including the staff. "All right, it was sexual, but it… well… all right it was sexual, but sexual intercourse did not happen." The four outwardly sighed in relief.

"How do you know that?" Scott asked.

"Well for one, I read their minds." The relief suddenly left their faces; how much had he seen? "I have a first hand account of what happened in each room. Logan also provided some more physical evidence to show that nothing happened. Logan?"

Logan stepped forward. "Exhibit A: the condoms."

"They were used." Scott said, simply.

"Yeah, they were used… by Cajun and Elf. Didn't smell any… uh… female juices on there with 'em though." Logan ignored the looks of disgust coming from Jean, Kitty, and Rogue. "I could smell a little bit of female perspiration on 'em. My guess is that Half-Pint and Stripes put them on you two so you wouldn't shoot your wad everywhere, right?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…yeah." Kitty finally said for them.

"Clue number two is the fact that I can smell Rogue on your pants, Cajun." Rogue blushed. "Fact that her panties were on the floor, my guess is that she was on top of you at some point and needed to take off her gloves to put the condom on."

"How do you explain Rogue's eyes? They were red and black when I came in." Scott said, still not fully convinced.

All turned to Rogue with curiosity; this had obviously been something that they could not explain on their own. Rogue looked at all the faces looking at her, but stopped on Remy. He gave her a small, reassuring smile. She finally said, "Okay, Ah did touch Remy but it was only for a second and it obviously didn't kill him."

"Why did you touch him Stripes?" Logan asked, now the suspicious one.

Rogue could feel Remy's eyes on her and she could feel the blush that had begun to creep into her cheeks. Scott was certain that she had done something now. "Ah… well, Ah gave Remy a kiss." Everyone, on cue, gasped. "It was a small kiss though! And it only lasted a few seconds and it was on his cheek!" Rogue added quickly.

Scott looked disappointed that he had not "caught them in the act." Or had he? "Okay fine, that explains that they didn't do it. But why was there a need to put on condoms or take (or rip) off clothes in the first place if they weren't doing anything?" Scott asked, indignantly.

The Professor sighed and said, "That's actually the part we can't explain… and neither can they." He motioned towards the people sitting on the sofa. "It seems that all four of them achieved orgasm without any prior stimulation. I was hoping that Hank would be able to explain this further." They all turned to Dr. McCoy.

Hank shrugged and began. "There are various drugs that I know of that tend to make people sexually aroused, but not all out climax. Charles you said that they just started having orgasms out of nowhere?"

The Professor had obviously read his students minds and then debriefed the teachers. "Yes. They were just talking and then they were… well you know."

"You know, this could be comparable to spontaneous human combustion." Hank said, looking deep in thought.

"Isn't that when people randomly burst into flames?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, it's rare and scientifically unexplainable. Although it's not as famous, people have been known to achieve orgasm at very odd times for no explainable reason."

"But four people at once? If it's a rare occurrence, what's the likeliness of it happening to so many people so sequentially?" Ororo asked.

"Very good point. The only other conclusion that I can come up with is that there must be something in the water." Hank suddenly looked at the four students very curiously. "Did you by chance have any water today?"

"From a bottle or from the tap?" Kitty asked.

"Tap."

"No."

"Ah had some milk…" Rogue looked down with a hint of guilt. "From the carton."

"So that's been you, huh?" Logan said, arching an eyebrow.

"Think Ah had some coffee dat might have been made from de tap. Can't be sure though." Remy shrugged his shoulders.

"I haven't had a single thing to eat today." Kurt said, miserably rubbing his tummy as he was suddenly reminded of his ever growing hunger.

"What else did you all ingest?" Hank said, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Ah had a plain bagel." Rogue said, looking like she was in thought.

"Just a bottle of Aquafina before I came downstairs." Kitty said.

"Nothin' but coffee." Remy said.

"Nothing." Kurt said, sounding as though he were on the verge of tears.

"Kitty, Ah could have sworn that you had a peach too." Rogue said, looking at her roommate. No one noticed Ororo suddenly look at them with a new found interest.

"No, I didn't have any peaches. I think I might have picked one up for a second, but I didn't eat it." Kitty said, casually.

"What they don't get is that it doesn't matter if they ate the fruit, it's more like the fruit ate them…" Matilda thought about her words for a second. "Or something like that." Matilda had been sitting in a corner atop an antique bust of Caligula. Up until then she had just been observing her handiwork.

"Peaches? You found peaches in the kitchen?" Ororo asked.

"In the fruit bowl." Kitty said, nodding.

"Now dat y' mention it, do believe dat Bleu here had a banana earlier." Remy said, staring off into space, trying to retrace the events that led to this moment.

"Bananas?" Ororo said, now looking suspicious.

"I did not have a banana. I vould love to have had one, as I am now regretting not." Kurt said, wistfully.

"Charles…" Ororo said, her eyebrows furred in thought. "I don't recall buying either peaches or bananas."

"Uh oh." Matilda said, looking up from her nails that she had been inspecting.

The Professor looked puzzled and then looked at Remy and Rogue, "You two did not mention that you both touched a peach and a banana as well."

Rogue thought about it for a minute. "Well Ah didn't think it was that important. Ah mean, Ah only touched a peach; Ah didn't even eat it."

"I see." The Professor looked deep in thought for a moment, not really acknowledging anyone.

"Um, Charles if they didn't ingest these fruits then why does it matter?" Hank asked, always the voice of logic.

"I can't explain it, but… something strange has been going on lately. Some occurrences of recent happening have just seemed a tad too convenient to have happened on their own accord, and I wonder…"

Matilda stiffened when she saw the Professor turn and look straight in her direction. "Ohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrapohcrap!" She said, as long as he had her corner under his gaze. He didn't seem to be looking at her, just the area which she was in.

"Chuck?" Logan asked. "Everything all right?"

The Professor turned back to the confused faces and smiled (and Matilda breathed out a sigh of relief). "Yes, just…" He briefly glanced in Matilda's direction again. "Nothing." He looked back at the four incredibly tense students. "None of you are in trouble, as it seems that no one here can really explain what happened. Now I do believe that you leave for survival training tomorrow, and this would be an excellent time to start packing." It was their turn to breathe. Kitty and Rogue shot up almost immediately (both being incredibly eager to get out of there), Kurt shot up next (his next destination was the kitchen), and Remy rolled his eyes (he felt this took way too long) and stood slowly. "Scott, Jean, I'll want to go over security procedures to be taken while we're away in my office."

Remy raised an eyebrow in the direction of Scott. "Ain't dey comin' on dis survival thing as well?"

"No, we 'ain't', actually." Scott said, enjoying mocking Remy's accent (Rogue growled under her breath). "The Professor has entrusted the mansion to me and Jean since we've already proven ourselves fit to survive in the wild." Scott put an infuriating arm around Jean's shoulders (she seemed a little annoyed that he made their affections public) and she plastered on an awkward smile.

Remy left the room, shaking his head. He really didn't want to think about what sort of thing that those two were going to do with the mansion all to themselves (shudder). He caught a glimpse of Rogue who was climbing the stairs with Kitty. She could feel his eyes on her and turned back to look at him. His face altogether remained expressionless, but his eyes… she knew he was looking right through her. She blushed, looked away, and bowed her head.

Remy sighed and stood in the hall for a minute. "Every time we take one step forward, it seems like we take two steps back." He sighed again and then walked up the stairs to his room to pack.

Scott, Jean, Logan, Hank, and Ororo all left the library with the Professor. They didn't notice that the Professor kept his eyes fixed on the corner with the bust of Caligula the entire time. As soon as they were gone, Matilda all but slid off the bust and allowed herself to just lay sprawled on the floor. After a few minutes of catching her breath, she rolled onto her side and propped her head onto her palm.

"Maybe the Passion Fruit worked a little too well? It seems to have drawn too much attention to my job and now the bald telepathic headmaster is on to me." She rolled onto her back again and just stared at the ceiling. "Which is bad. If I try something else with him around, I'm sure that I'll be discovered. Although the Passion Fruit produced the desired results (they all certainly have sex on their minds) all four of them are now under the scrutinizing eyes of their classmates and teachers."

Matilda audibly growled. "Grrr… if hadn't been for stupid Scott (again) and that idiot blonde girl then they would have been setting up permanent residence in make out city! Well, make out city for Kurt and Kitty, one intense kiss before he passes out city for Remy and Rogue. Now that I think about it, my plans would have gone perfectly had it not been for these stupid teenagers' interference."

Matilda shot up with a mad and clarified look in her eyes. "That's it! That's been my problem! It's not my fault nothing's been working, it's these stupid kids that my clients live with! Their constant barging in and blabbing has made things awkward for my poor subjects. If only I could get them alone for a few days minimum, I'd have them confessing their love for each other every five minutes."

Matilda clutched her chin between her thumb and her forefinger and made wrinkles in her forehead thinking. Her face brightened a few moments later and she snapped her fingers. "Of course! That survival training field trip thingy! It'd be easy as pie to separate the four of them from the rest of their classmates and teachers. And without them, I won't have to worry about the stupid kids' or that brilliant telepathic headmaster messing with my plans."

Matilda then bit her lip when she remembered. "Crap! I keep forgetting about that stupid Hirane thing (Why did I agree to take care of him again?). How am I supposed to…?" She gazed up at the ceiling in thought. She finally shrugged her shoulders and said, "I suppose the four of them can handle him on their own. I mean, it's just one demon tree and they are four super powered youngsters. They should be able to handle him no sweat, right?"

Matilda nodded confidently and then stood up. "I'll give them the rest of the day to cool off. I better get to that mountain and make some preparations and arrangements." Without so much as blinking, Matilda was gone.

"OHMYGOD, details you!" Jubilee practically squealed at Rogue. "Is Remy equipped or what? Tell me!"

"Kitty, come on, you've got to tell me about Kurt! I've had my eye on him for a while now and if he's packed then that pretty much seals the deal!" Tabitha said, very obnoxiously.

"Jubilee and I both think Remy is positively adorable, and we were talking about sharing him. Is he worth the trouble?" Amara asked, as though she were in the middle of international negotiations.

Rogue and Kitty both pushed their way through the swarm of girls that had been waiting for them to be finished, in order to assault them with questions. The minute they got inside their room, they slammed the door in the girls' faces and locked it. Neither said a word for a minute; they just both collapsed on their respective beds.

"Rogue?" Kitty asked, gazing dazedly at the ceiling.

"Hmm?" Was Rogue's very muffled reply.

"What just happened?"

Rogue turned and looked at the ceiling as well. "Good question."

Kitty felt the blush return to her face. "I can't believe that Kurt just saw me…"

"Ah know." Rogue said, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"And that I just saw him…" Kitty's eyes grew wider.

"Ah know." Rogue said again, visualizing Remy's gorgeous Demon eyes.

"And now everybody in the whole friggin' mansion knows…" Kitty said sadly.

"Kitty, don't say 'friggin'. If you're going to say an 'f' word, go for the gold." Rogue said, now thinking about Remy's body.

Kitty sighed and looked at her closet. "Well, I guess we better start packing."

As Kitty stood, Rogue contemplated something for a second. "Hey Kitty?" Kitty turned to face her roommate. "You know how Ah have that rule that Ah don't want to hear anything about mah brother that would not be appropriate for a sister to know that you happen to find out?" Kitty nodded. "Well, Ah'm willing to lift that rule for today, if you will listen to meh about… something that Ah need to get off mah chest."

Kitty seemed to know what Rogue was talking about and her eyes began to glitter excitedly. She rushed towards Rogue and sat on her bed. They both faced each other and began to talk.

"Okay, one word, two syllables: details!" Kitty said with a smile.

"Oh mah God Kitty, you think he's good looking with clothes on? He is absolutely gorgeous naked!" Rogue said, with an uncharacteristic giddiness.

"Oh my God, you should see Kurt! Well, you shouldn't see him, 'cause he's your brother and all, but he is so built! And I love his fur, and blue looks good on a guy if he's naked!" Kitty said, at almost a squealing level.

"You got him completely naked? You saw everything?"

"Well, not everything. I didn't see his butt, but I know that's tight as all get out. But I did see his… um… his thingy." Kitty said, blushing.

"Kitty, you're with a girl. You can say his cock." Rogue said, bluntly. "And Ah saw Remy's too."

"Really? I've heard a lot of speculation about his from all the other girls. Is it really that big? I bet it's not. How big is it?"

"How big do you think it is?" Rogue asked with a smirk. Seeing her reaction to this was going to be fun.

Kitty held her hands about five inches apart; Rogue promptly shook her head "no". Kitty widened the space between her hands by about two inches; Rogue shook her head and mouthed "bigger". Kitty raised an eyebrow and cocked her head; Rogue took her hands and spread them until they were about eleven inches apart. Kitty's eyes nearly bugged out of her head and Rogue laughed out loud.

"Nuh uh." Kitty said, still in a daze.

"Yah huh." Rogue said with a laugh.

"Nuh uh!" Kitty said, a smile forming on her mouth.

"Yah huh!" Rogue said, nodding her head.

"Oh my God! That's almost a foot! Poor Kurt, he's only ten inches and-"

"Wait, Kurt's ten inches! Geez, Kitty what are you talking about! That's huge; Ah didn't expect him to be that big!" Rogue said; now it was her turn for her mouth to drop.

"I know! And trust me when I say that all of him is blue!"

Their giggly, girly conversation lasted even when they were packing for the trip. Without everybody watching, in their own room, together they were able to do something that seemed inconceivable earlier: be happy about the events that took place that day.


	4. Chapter Three: The God of Bad Timing

Chapter Three: The God of Bad Timing

Five A.M. as promised. The Professor mentally awoke every student in the institute and all of them came filing into the hanger eventually, dressed and ready to go but groggy. Scott and Jean were to accompany everyone on the jet and then fly it back to the mansion where they would maintain security.

Ororo was taking a role call of everyone there, while Logan and Hank piled the kids' bags into the back of the jet. Kitty was partially asleep on Rogue's shoulder, and Rogue had to nudge her when Ororo called her name three times. Kitty jerked awake and mumbled, "Present!"

"I'm not surprised she's tired, after all the fun that she and Kurt had yesterday." Amara whispered to Jubilee, who obnoxiously giggled.

Kitty ignored any and all comments; at this hour of the morning, she didn't care about her social life. Rogue didn't mind being used as a head rest; it felt nice to be needed for something.

"Everyone's here!" Ororo called to Logan.

"All right, everyone get on the jet in a neat and orderly fashion!" Logan said sternly, standing beside Ororo. Little did they know that on this particular flight, they were going to have an extra passenger.

Matilda, dressed in a vintage bomber jacket and goggles her own size and a flapping long white scarf, observed all the students piling onto the plane. She felt a little worried about the noticeable distance between Remy and Kurt to Rogue and Kitty. "That won't do. That won't do at all." She said, shaking her head. Just as the first students began to board the jet, she knew she had to act.

"I really hate to do this to them, but I need to buy some time!" Very quickly, Matilda ran behind Kitty and Rogue and opened the bags that they carried with them. All of the books and CDs that the girls had brought to amuse themselves with on the plane spilled out on the floor.

Rogue and Kitty turned to see all of belongings their spread across the floor. Kitty sighed sadly and Rogue just shut her eyes in frustration.

"Stripes?" Logan asked, expectantly.

"We'll be right there Logan!" Rogue called. Neither girl heard Remy or Kurt approach and begin helping them with their things.

"Ahh. Such gentlemen. But no time to ogle today!" Matilda said, and she ran onto the plane. She looked around at the students trying to get situated. She stepped into the middle of the aisle and conducted motions with her arms, "Okay, you sit here… and you go here…"

Kurt handed Kitty her sparkly silver CD case. Kitty didn't notice that they both were making a reach for her copy of _Three Junes_. In a perfect romantic comedy fashion, just as both reached for it, their hands rested one on top of the other. Kitty and Kurt looked at the contact and then looked into each other's eyes. Both looked down in a vain attempt to hide their blush. Kurt was about to draw his hand away when he really got a good look at the sight of his hand atop of hers; there was her perfect, beautiful, pink skinned, normal hand beneath his hideous, freakish, blue, furry three fingered hand. That kind of beauty has no need to be hampered by something so… abnormal, Kurt thought, as he removed his hand with a sad sigh and stood. Kitty looked up at him curiously and then straightened herself as well.

Remy handed Rogue her copy of _The Turn of the Screw_ and she zipped her bag back up. She smiled at him and said, "thanks." She, Kitty and Kurt had begun to board the jet and Remy would have joined them had he not noticed something on the ground. A large black hard cover book was lying open on the ground and he figured it must have been one of Rogue's. He picked it up and was going to close it until he noticed the pages. It was some kind of sketch book, and on the page that it had been opened to was a large sketch of a pair of eyes. But these weren't normal eyes: where there should have been white, there was black. Since it was in pencil, he assumed that the penciled gray where there should have been color was intended to be red. Remy couldn't stop the grin that grew on his face even if he wanted to; he didn't have to give the book back immediately, right?

Like the professional thief he was, Remy pocketed the book in his trench coat and boarded the jet not far after Rogue. Rogue and Kitty had stopped to exchange a few words with Logan, who was in the pilot's seat, and Remy was able to pull in front of the line a little (he didn't mind the clear view of Rogue's nice backside either). When he turned to face the aisle he saw that there were only two rows of seats left (each row seated two) and they sat on opposite sides of the plane. Kurt already occupied one seat on the right and was about to start reading _Grendel_ again.

Remy had two choices: he could sit with Kurt and let Rogue and Kitty talk about… whatever it is that girls talk about or he could take the empty row and hope that a certain girl with gorgeous green eyes and white streaks in her hair would sit down next to him.

Matilda (who had coordinated the seating arrangements very carefully) walked up to him. "You know that if you sit next to Kurt, he will inevitably get blue fuzz on your coat." Remy grimaced at that thought (the dry cleaning bills on his precious coat tended to run high). "Not to mention that at some point his tail will definitely brush up against your leg and it's going to be really awkward sitting next to him for the rest of the flight. Whereas if you sit next to Rogue, if something of hers brushed against your leg, it wouldn't be so much as awkward as it would be-" Matilda didn't even finish her sentence before he sat down in the empty row.

Remy looked up to be sure that Rogue was still speaking to Logan. After assuring himself that she was, he took the sketchbook out of his coat and studied it closer. It was black but covered in stickers: some from various rock bands, a few from the Emily Lives series, one Bettie Page sticker, and one that said "Boys are stupid- throw rocks at them!" (Remy didn't care much for the last one). But something on the back caught his attention: drawn in the corner with a silver pen was an Ace of Spades, but instead of being colored, in the center was written "Gambit". It was probably just something she drew in class while she was bored, and anyone who saw it would think nothing of it, but to Remy… well, how could he not grin knowingly? Remy lightly traced the drawing with his fingers; to him, it was about the equivalent of her putting their names in a little heart.

Remy hid the book from view again when he noticed Rogue and Kitty begin to walk down the aisle. Both their faces looked slightly panicked when they saw their choice of seats. Since Rogue stood in front of Kitty, she would be the main instigator of their fates for the rest of this trip. She looked back and forth between the two seats: Remy smiled at her brightly when she looked in his direction and Kurt was too immersed in his book to take notice of her.

"Yes Rogue, it looks like you're going to have to sit next to Remy and sort out what happened yesterday whether you like it or-" Matilda stopped mid-sentence when she saw Rogue take the seat next to Kurt. Kitty gave her a look saying "you're making me sit next to Remy?" and she sat down grudgingly. Remy looked slightly hurt, but this would give him time to rifle through his little discovery. Matilda looked back and forth between the two rows at the people she was supposed to bring together. "Oh, these kids are clever. Okay, that didn't exactly go how I planned, but I can work off of this." Matilda sat down right in the middle of the aisle between the only four people she cared about on this flight.

"Everybody buckle up, and no yelling and running! I want to get through this trip without having to come back there, you hear me Drake?" Logan yelled from the pilot's seat. Within the next moment, the plane took off out of the hidden waterfall exit and out into the wild blue yonder. Kitty almost immediately pulled out her CD player and slipped on her headphones. Remy looked at her profile from a distance to be sure that she wasn't paying any attention to him. He looked over at the row right across from him and saw Rogue and Kurt both reading their respective books. Great, no one would notice him.

Remy pulled out the book once again and opened it to the first page. These sketches were incredibly old (judging from their dates) and were mostly of other people: a boy and a girl walking through the park holding hands, a mother holding a small daughter, two girls painting each other's toenails (Remy couldn't help but notice that the two girls bore a resemblance to Kitty and Jean). Going through the next few pages were all the same sort; just people Rogue might have seen somewhere touching each other.

Then Remy came across a portrait of her; it wasn't the expressionless or the angry Rogue that most people saw on a day-to-day basis, but it was a shot of Rogue's head. What struck Remy about it was that she drew herself with countless tears running down her cheeks. It was unbearably realistic. With uncovered fingertips, Remy reached out and touched the skin of the sketch in a vain attempt to wipe away the tears. Turning the page, he discovered that the sketches only got more disturbing: one showed Rogue laying dead in a coffin, a naked, blindfolded Rogue carrying a dead albatross over her shoulder, and one of a scene in a graveyard where a very regretful and sad Magneto, Mystique, Mesmero and Apocalypse were all standing around a tombstone with a massive "The Rogue- R.I.P." engraved on it. Over each of the figures in the scene was a little line drawn to their mouths to connect to a caption that she had written above the scene. The caption read, "What a shame- I had so many more uses for her."

Taking a quick look at the date, Remy saw that it had been drawn shortly after she had been possessed to release Apocalypse. He couldn't look at that one for too long; it made him sad to think about all the betraya'lls she's suffered. But when he turned the page again, he was pleasantly surprised.

There was a huge rendition of Remy and Rogue's first meeting. It didn't include the card blowing up in Rogue's face (Remy was happy about that), but it was more about when Remy leaned in close to her face. He never told Rogue that he had wanted to kiss her on that day, but she had pulled away from him before he could do so… hmm, at least something hasn't changed. The following pages were all in the same vain: drawings of his face, drawings of his face and body (she was incredibly accurate in drawing his coat), and sometimes just drawings of his eyes. Apparently that was the part of him that fascinated her most. In one head shot of him, she had drawn an arrow to his eyes and had written to the side, "Demon eyes." Another arrow, this time directed at his mouth that she had drawn curled into his smirk, had written beside it, "Angel smile."

Remy had a small, content smile on his face; he had always been self-conscious about his eyes, but it seemed that not only did Rogue like them, but that she couldn't get them out of her head. Even on sketches that looked more like doodles, she had drawn his eyes somewhere on the paper.

When the dates started to read after Remy had joined the team, though, the subjects of her sketches got a tad more… racy. It started innocently enough; the odd shot of Remy shirtless or something (her attention to detail when it came to muscle tone was exquisite). Then there was a shot where oddly enough he was fully clothed, but she wasn't. Remy could feel a slight blush creep into his face; he was behind her in the drawing, but his hands were caressing a pair of very full breasts (He hoped to God that she drew them true to life) and he was kissing that gorgeous neck that he had been so fascinated with only yesterday. Her expression resembled what he had seen yesterday: mouth parted, eyes shut blissfully, and one of her hands running through his hair. In the corner of the sketch, written in very cursive calligraphy, was the caption "Dreaming". So she does dream about me, he thought to himself.

The drawings only got more raunchy. Some were where they were only kissing… others where they were doing more. One that grabbed his attention was where she was on top of him, much like they were just yesterday. Except in this version they were both completely nude. The date in the corner was the prior day's date. He turned the page and saw a drawing of him standing up and fully nude. He looked like he was leaning on something, and nothing was hindering his naked glory. Again, it was dated the previous day. It dawned on Remy that Rogue had been lying through her teeth when she said that all she wanted from him was friendship. It was a possibility that the smirk on his face would become permanent from this point onward.

Kitty really wasn't happy about sitting next to Remy; it wasn't that she didn't like Remy (she thought he was very nice), but she just really wanted to sit next to Kurt; he was her best friend after all (it had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to clear the air between them about what had been going on lately-really!). But since she was going to be stuck next to Remy for the next few hours, she might as well get some things off of her chest that had been bugging her lately…

"Hey Remy?" Kitty asked very sweetly. Remy quickly shut the sketchbook and slipped it back inside his coat before turning to look at Kitty in the eye.

"Oui Chaton?" He replied, just as nice as she had.

"What exactly are your intentions for my roommate?" Kitty asked, keeping her face straight.

"Pardon?" He asked, arching his eyebrow.

"You heard me. I want to know exactly how you feel about Rogue." Kitty crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.

Remy looked confused. He paused, and took a deep breath before he answered, "Well, Remy think dat Rogue be very… interestin' t' know."

"Interesting? What do you mean by interesting?" Kitty asked, a tad suspicious.

"Remy mean… dat she is very smart. And very attractive… and dat she… well…" Remy ran his hand through his hair. Usually, he did well when he was put on the spot but for some reason he couldn't speak the words aloud about his interest in Rogue. "Why do y' ask anyway?"

Kitty shrugged. "Well, it's like totally obvious that you both have a thing for each other. I was just wondering if your thing was just about the challenge of getting Rogue or if you want something more than that."

Remy sighed, and it wasn't a happy sigh. "Tell y' de truth Chaton, it really don't matter what dis Cajun want. It really up t' Rogue an' how much she willin' t' give." He let out a bittersweet chuckle. "Don't know if Y' noticed dis or not, but she's not really de easiest person to get to."

Kitty let out a knowing huff. "I hear that. I've been living with her since she joined the Institute, and she still won't talk to me unless I like pry her teeth out." Remy didn't look too happy about hearing this; if Kitty (who rarely shut up) couldn't get Rogue to open up, then what were the chances that he could? Kitty must have seen how Remy reacted to her saying this. "But hey, before you moved in she was never this talkative. I think you might be making progress; you just can't give up on her. I think that if she gets constant hammering from multiple angles, then eventually she has to give, you know? Like a dam."

Remy let Kitty's words soak in (there were quite a few, so it took a few minutes) before he glanced over to where Rogue sat with Kurt. Rogue seemed immersed in her book, but Kurt he noticed, had been looking straight at Kitty before Remy looked over. Then Kurt pretended to be reading again. Remy smiled and looked at Kitty who was blissfully unaware of Kurt's actions. "Y' know, Remy under de impression dat Bleu be quite taken wit' y'."

"Who? Kurt?" Kitty asked, incredulously. She looked over at Kurt; he was completely into his book. "No, no, he's not…" Kitty stopped to think about how to phrase this. "He couldn't be interested in me."

"Et pourquoi pas?"

Kitty was at a loss for words. "Because… because… because he's my best friend and that's all we are, and he's not going to look at me any other way." She said with a fake finality in her voice.

"Ah. Remy see." Kitty seemed satisfied that he would drop the subject; while she loved to hear about his personal life, she didn't feel comfortable discussing her own with him. "Chaton clearly don't see how Bleu look at her when she not lookin'."

Kitty looked at him. "He…" She tried to show the excitement in her expression. "He looks at me when I'm not looking?"

"Oh, oui. Quite often actually." Remy told her, with a reassuring smile.

"Really?" Kitty said, now smiling brightly.

Little did Remy or Kitty know at the time, that they were being watched and it wasn't just by the little spirit of love that had situated herself on the floor. Kurt and Rogue both periodically peeked over their books to glance over at the row opposite them.

"Well, they seem to be hitting it off." Rogue said, as she watched Kitty giggle at one of Remy's jokes.

"Ja." Kurt said, rather darkly when he saw Remy raise his eyebrows suggestively at Kitty. "Rogue, exactly vhat do you see in that guy?"

Rogue looked surprised at her brother. "Ah don't know… Ah guess, it's because he's the only guy, besides you and Mr. Logan, who doesn't treat me like Ah'm a bomb about to go off."

"Others treat you that vay?" Kurt asked, sounding surprised and hurt on his sister's behalf.

"Pretty much everyone, except you and Kitty, and Logan and the teachers, and… well, him." Rogue said, motioning towards Remy.

"Rogue, you know that I only agree vith Scott on certain issues after he has conned me into believing him." Rogue smiled a little. "But Scott is right about Herr LeBeau."

Rogue's smile faded suddenly. "Do all of ya'll have a pact about not trusting any guy that comes in from the opposing side or something?"

"Rogue, it has little to do vith that. Remy vas not a good person before any of this in the first place. He vas a thief and still is. You cannot trust him vith anything that you hold precious." Kurt said, with his hands enclosed over his heart. Rogue got the point he was trying to get across.

"Kurt, trust meh. Ah've learned what to do by now when Ah think a person is trying to use meh." Rogue said, looking at her gloved hands.

"I know that you can take care of yourself. I just…" Kurt looked down a little sheepishly. "I just vant to make sure you vill be all right."

Rogue smiled; it felt good to have a brother. "Thanks Kurt." Rogue looked back at Remy and Kitty, who were both laughing at Remy recounting one of his stories. Rogue snorted amusedly. "Hey, maybe Remy and Kitty should get together." Kurt let out a small chuckle and they both resumed reading their books. Slowly, after a moment of silence, their eyes rose from their books and turned to look at each other. Then in almost perfect unison they looked over at Kitty and Remy again.

"No, Ah take that back. They shouldn't." Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Ja, they really shouldn't." Kurt enthusiastically agreed.

"La da di da, I'm bored, I'm bored, time to shake things up." Matilda said in a sing-song voice. All four of her subjects had resumed an activity that required little-to-no talking: Remy was shuffling his cards, Kitty was reading an issue of Cosmopolitan while listening to her music, Kurt was in the home stretch of finishing Grendel, and Rogue still intently read The Turn of the Screw.

Matilda stretched her arms above her head. "Mmm mmm, that feels good! Wouldn't that feel good right now?" Matilda directed her voice at the ladies, who both sat by the aisle. "Can't you feel your arms and shoulders and back becoming more tense by the second?" Absently, Rogue reached a hand back to feel her shoulder and Kitty tried to flex her neck while reading. "And don't even get started on your poor legs! They've been sitting there for at least over an hour, in that confining position. They must feel so cramped right now." Rogue tried her best to extend her legs where she sat but it was no use, and Kitty shifted her legs uncomfortably. "You know what would feel great right now? A nice… long… stretch."

That sealed the deal: Kitty almost immediately turned off her music and put her CD player and magazine to the side before standing, and Rogue followed suit by putting her book back in her bag. Both girls stood by their seats and began to do everything to roll out the kinks out of their bodies. They barely heard the gasps and moans of pleasure that they felt as the relief came washing through their bodies with each part they stretched. They had no idea the effect that these sounds were having on two boys on the plane.

"Hey guys… does that sound familiar?" Matilda said, wickedly. Kurt blushed, and Remy smirked at the memory of yesterday. Matilda looked back and forth between the two girls, who she was sure were distracted enough to notice… "Okay… cue the TURBULANCE!"

All at once the plane started shaking. Rogue and Kitty wobbled and tried to grip something to steady themselves with.

"What the hell…?" Logan said, trying to steady the controls. "Everyone sit tight!" He called back as a few of the students started to look panicked.

Matilda looked at Rogue and Kitty both trying to sit back down; Matilda would have none of that. Very quickly, she reached out her hands and grabbed an ankle from each girl. With all the strength that she had, she pushed Kitty's ankle forward and pulled Rogue's ankle back. "Oops." She said, her eyes looking up innocently.

Rogue was falling backwards and just knew that she was going to bang her head on something. However a pair of very strong hands caught her as she fell backwards into a row of seats. When she looked up, she locked eyes with a certain pair of demon eyes that she had developed a minor fetish for. Remy smirked down at her and she brought her chin down to her chest to hide the blush that came from feeling his lovely muscular legs beneath her back.

Kitty, however, had stumbled forwards and when she tripped she got a very close eyeful of Kurt's crotch. Her head was in his lap, and Kurt couldn't help but stiffen his back and look very shy. Kitty froze for a second when she heard someone yell, "They're going at it again!" (It was either Sam or Roberto, she didn't care). Slowly she sat up and she and Kurt locked eyes briefly before facing forward and turning to the color of a tomato.

Remy gently helped Rogue to sit up. She straightened up her hair and fastened her seat belt, but she didn't dare look at him.

"No one stand up until I give the clear! And everybody buckle up!" Logan yelled, messing with some controls.

"That's odd. Air traffic control didn't report any turbulence for this area…" The Professor looked suspiciously at the radar in front of the co-pilot's seat.

"Crappity, crap, crap!" Matilda yelled, knowing that she was a second away from being discovered. She stood and frantically looked around the plane. "Need to hide, need to get out of here, need to do something!" She looked nervously at her subjects. "I think I'll just meet up with them later at the mountain." With a snap of the fingers, she was gone.

"Well chèrie, it's seems dat fate has once again decided t' bring us t'gether." Remy said, smirking at Rogue.

"Yeah, sure." Rogue said. It was the only thing she could think of to say at the moment; she couldn't come up with anything better seeing as how it was difficult to be witty and duck your head so that the guy you just had an orgasm in front of yesterday couldn't see you blush.

"Somethin' botherin' y'?" Remy asked innocently. Now Rogue could turn and face him; how could he ask something like that! Was something bothering her! Well of course something was bothering her; just being around him made her bothered… and hot. God girl, stop thinking like that! Rogue thought as she allowed him to see the fuming, incredulous look on her face.

"Swamp Rat, you know perfectly well what's bothering meh!" Rogue said, in a shouted whisper of sorts.

"Are we gonna play dis game again? 'Cause Remy lost dis game yesterday when we played it before." Remy said, putting on a mock despaired face. It wasn't entirely mock though; he genuinely wanted to know why she had reverted to calling him Swamp Rat again.

"Oh you think you're so smooth, with your Cajun accent and your nonstop flirting and your collection of phone numbers from all these girls and…" Rogue stopped when she realized that she had just proved why Remy was so smooth.

"Phone numbers? What are y' talkin' 'bout?" Remy asked, looking genuinely confused.

"There's like a whole wad of phone numbers from women you've picked up at bars and God knows where else stuffed in your wallet. Ah saw them yesterday." Rogue grumbled. It had been one of the things that had been bothering Rogue since the day before… one of the things.

Remy furrowed his eyebrows trying to think of what she was talking about. He finally pulled out his wallet and rifled through it. Surprised he pulled out the culmination of women's phone numbers that apparently he had stashed in there.

"See?" Rogue said, taking the pile of napkins and business cards and everything in between from his hand. "Let's see: Erica." She said holding up a napkin. "Who you met at the… Café du Monde? There's one in Bayville?"

"Do not insult de sacred name of du Monde by sayin' it's in Bayville. Dere's only one city where y' can find de Café du Monde and dat's down in N'awlins." Remy said, very proudly.

"Oh. So you met Erica in New Orleans." Rogue said, discarding that one on her thigh. She then reached for a business card. "Oh, here you've got Laura Fishel of the Fishel and Desmond Law Firm in… New Orleans, Louisiana?" Rogue looked at Remy; he just smiled at her, victoriously.

Rogue began to file through each of them: A cocktail napkin from Howl at the Moon piano bar in New Orleans, a napkin from the Court of Two Sisters restaurant in New Orleans, a dermatologist's practice business card in New Orleans, a phone number scrawled on a city map of New Orleans, and everything else that had one common element. Rogue looked at the pile that had gathered on her thigh; she looked at Remy when she figured out that there was a pattern to this culmination. "So… you met all these women… before you left New Orleans and joined the X-Men?" Rogue asked.

"Oui. It seem dat Remy hasn't found de time t' clean out his wallet." Remy said, taking the collection from her leg.

"Oh." Rogue said, rather sheepishly.

As Remy himself sorted through the pile, he stopped and looked at Rogue when he realized something. "Chère… did y' honestly think dis Cajun was goin' out and pickin' up women at bars every night since comin' here?"

"Well…" Rogue started. Yes, because you're gorgeous and sexy and I wish I could be one of these women that you have my number as a part of your collection. Rogue thought about what she just thought. Even though we kind of live in the same house and you don't really need it. Instead Rogue just said, "You do go out with Wolverine to bars sometimes. Ah just figured that-"

"Chère, t' tell y' de truth, de bars de Wolverine takes Remy t' tend not t' draw a female crowd." Remy said, flipping through the numbers as though he was looking for one specific one. Rogue didn't answer; she stared straight ahead trying to look mad but failing. Something suddenly dawned on Remy. "Chère… y' gettin' jealous on dis Cajun's behalf?" Rogue looked back at him suddenly with her eyes wide. "Dat's so sweet."

Nothing could wipe the grin off of Remy's face; not even the remarkably offended look that Rogue had on hers. "You…" She shook her head. "You're crazier than Ah thought."

Rogue tried to act like it didn't bother her that Remy had loomed in closer to her face, studying her lovely profile. "Aw chère… y' know dat dere's only one Miss Bayville for Remy." He moved his mouth to where he was only a breath away from her ear. "An' he wouldn't want it any other way." His words combined with his breathing made Rogue involuntarily shudder.

Rogue looked at him and tried to regain some of her composure. "Then how do you explain all the condoms that Ah also found in your wallet?"

"Most women like a man who plays it safe."

"That's not what Ah meant. Ah mean you've got like fifty on one roll in there. No man has that much sex in a day." Rogue crossed her arms and looked away in a huff.

Remy dipped his fingers into his wallet again and pulled out the incriminating roll of condoms. He looked at each one and then said, "Dere only be eleven chère. Don't know where y' got fifty."

Rogue rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Whatever. The point is you've got way more than any person could possibly have a need for."

Remy paused looking thoughtful. He grinned to himself and then leaned in uncomfortably close to Rogue's face. "Can Remy tell y' somethin'… personal?" He breathed on her sensitive skin; Rogue did her best to repress a shudder.

"Like you don't already do that whenever we talk." Rogue said, trying to sound calm. Dear God, if he so much as breathes on me, I think I might lose it and rip his pants off…She thought. I'm beyond the point of caring whether it kills him or not.

If it was possible, Remy got closer to her without touching her skin. But it was close enough to make her incredibly uncomfortable. He spoke in a whisper right into her ear. "One of de perks of bein' a mutant, specifically a mutant male, is dat it takes very little time for our bodies to be up for another go."

Rogue looked at him with wide eyes. "Another go at what?"

Remy just grinned at her. Rogue made a scoffing noise in her throat and turned away from him again. Remy leaned in close to her again and whispered, "So y' see chère, dere were… twelve yesterday?" Remy looked at her inquiringly. "Dat would be about…" He tapped his finger against his chin in mock thought. "Dat would be about two sack sessions for m'… o' course, wit' about five to ten minute breaks in between."

Rogue looked at him with an incredulous look on her face. "Ah hope to God that you're just bragging."

Remy smirked at her; their faces were only inches apart. "Chère, y're hopin' t' God dat Remy be tellin' de truth."

Rogue tried her best not to show any validity to that statement by looking straight ahead and trying to look mad about… something, anything just so she wouldn't show what she was really thinking about. She couldn't help it when her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she felt Remy's fingers caressing the strands of the white streaked portion of her hair. "Ah thought we agreed we would try doing the friendship thing." Rogue said, although her voice sounded slightly shakey.

"We are chère… Remy just be a friend who's tryin' t' be more den friends wit' his friend who happens t' be a belle fille." Remy took a strand of her hair that was a part of her whispy bangs and tucked it behind her ear.

Rogue jerked her face away from Remy's ghost touch and didn't look at him. Why did he insist on tormenting her?

Remy resumed looking through the pile of phone numbers on his lap. After a series of small disgusted sounds as he went through each one, he finally said, "Ah. Here be de keeper."

Only out of morbid curiosity (or so she had convinced herself) Rogue turned to look at what he was talking about. Remy was holding a flat something very tenderly and was looking at it as though it were a delicate but fantastic treasure.

Rogue snatched whatever he was holding out of his fingers and studied it closer. It was a playing card and he had written in black cursive on there…

"So you have more than one 'chère'? Figures." Rogue tried not to show the faint sign of hurt when she saw that it was the Queen of Hearts. "So who is this 'keeper'? Is she the one who can do the special thing with her tongue or something?"

"Oh, she's a real find chère. Truly belle, smart, strong, and a little stubborn. Not de type t' change for anyone. But she is as sexy as hell, if Remy may say so himself." Remy said, with a mysterious smirk.

"Really?" Rogue said, in a failed attempt to hide her annoyance. "Her area code says that she lives in Bayville and she's available at…" Rogue trailed off upon closer inspection of the phone number. She looked at Remy with a confused look and her mouth parted slightly; he just grinned back triumphantly. Finally finding her voice, Rogue looked at him suspiciously (and ignoring the flattered blush staining her cheeks), she asked, "How did you get mah cell number?"

Remy shrugged and said, "Remy have his ways." With that, he took the card from her motionless fingers and with care slipped the card back in his wallet before pocketing the leather piece. His attention fell back on the assortment of phone numbers that still rested on his lap. "Now what t' do wit' dese…"

"Just keep them in case you go back to New Orleans and need to make a booty call or something…" Rogue said, practically grumbling.

"Can't do dat. Y' be de only chère Remy got or want, an' dese women makin' mah Roguey upset. Dat means dey have t' go." Remy looked around the plane and his eyes settled on something on the other side of the aisle. "Chaton?" Remy asked. Kitty turned her head on looked at him curiously. "Do y' by chance have another one of dose things dat y' keep y'r lovely hair pulled back wit'?" Kitty giggled and dug into her jeans pocket. She pulled out a hair elastic and leaned across the aisle. Remy leaned over Rogue (who pressed her back into her seat as she blushed furiously) and took the hair band from Kitty. "Merci."

Rogue raised an eyebrow as she watched Remy wrap the little elastic around the pile of numbers. After making sure that they were all secured together, Remy turned his head and twisted his upper body to look around the plane again. His eyes brightened when he obviously found what he was looking for and a mischievous grin stretched across his incredibly sexy mouth. Remy turned to look at Rogue; Rogue found it hard to keep from drooling at the way his incredible eyes just seemed all that much more vibrant when they were planning to do something naughty or how his perfect male lips seemed born to make that smirk. Rogue came back to reality when she noticed that he had raised the wrapped pile to be eye level with both of them. Her eyes suddenly widened with realization as the bunch began to glow a violent pink and then grow to be a blood red. "Uh oh."

Rogue made no effort to stop Remy and he peered over the back of his seat and grinned evilly at a certain someone. "Hey Scotty!" Remy called as he flicked the sudden small bomb with a well practiced grace in the direction of the X-leader's head.

Kurt was presently watching _Spirited Away_ on his portable DVD player; Kitty was presently watching Kurt watch _Spirited Away_ on his portable DVD player. She had no idea what was going on in the movie (as Kurt had headphones on) and she really didn't care; she was having a fine time with only studying him during this once in a lifetime opportunity. Kurt was distracted and not paying any attention to Kitty (for once) and she could look at him up close without having to turn away from him suddenly when he noticed her looking and then spending the rest of the day embarrassed.

God… his ears are so cute (Legolas has got nothing on Kurt)! Mmm… his smile is great and the one part of him that looks most like a demon (whoever doesn't think that fangs are cool, was obviously dropped on their head as a baby). Kitty thought to herself. Her eyes traveled to his eyes which were intently watching the screen (she could see the picture reflected on his eyes) and would have probably fallen over had she not already been sitting down. Don't even get me started on his eyes… they're so beautiful and so… angelic. Kitty recalled earlier when their hands had briefly touched. The sight looked so ideal to her, with his blue and her porcelain complementing each other perfectly. She shivered slightly at the remembrance of the feeling of his fur against her skin. God, it's so soft! I think I might be developing a fur fetish.

Something swished near the floor and Kitty's eyes immediately followed its direction. She could feel her throat go dry as she watched Kurt's tail swish back and forth absently as he watched his movie. If he knew… just… how friggin' sexy his tail is, he would never doubt his looks again. She thought, as she gazed longingly at his tail. It was so strong when he wrapped it around her waist yesterday, and almost involuntarily, her mind wandered to what else he could do with that wonderful extra limb…

Kitty held in a gasp when she saw that Kurt's tail landed right in between the seats that the two friends shared. Kitty bit her lower lip and looked at Kurt; he still seemed immersed in his movie. Should I… no, I shouldn't… well, maybe he won't… it will be okay, right?… Her eyes never turning from the profile of Kurt's face, she slowly raised her hand up to the spade of Kurt's tail. With very soft fingertips, she barely brushed the tip of the spade. Kurt's eyes almost immediately bugged out of his skull as a small gasp passed from his lips. His tail twitched and Kitty almost immediately withdrew her hand; she turned her whole body forward, sat on her hands, and looked straight ahead, not daring to look at her friend. Kurt, meanwhile, fumbled to turn off his movie and removed his head phones. He looked at Kitty (who had begun blushing furiously) and had to restrain himself to keep from dropping to his knees and begging her to do that again.

"Um… Kätzchen…" Kurt began slowly.

"Yes, Kurt?" Kitty asked, deciding to play stupid.

"Vhy did you-"

"It was an accident, okay? I didn't mean to touch it." Kitty said, very quickly.

"Oh." Kurt said, the faint disappointment evident in his voice. He contemplated something for a second before continuing. "That's actually… not vhat I vanted to ask you."

Kitty looked at him in surprise and confusion. "Then what did you…" She trailed off when he grinned shyly to himself (she was fairly sure that her heart melted just then).

"Vhat I vanted to ask is… vhy… vhy did you stop?" Kurt said, very slowly; he gradually rose his eyes to meet hers and she could see the anxiety in the question that he posed.

This took Kitty back a little bit. "What? You mean, you don't mind that I'm…"

"Oh, nein!" Kurt said quickly. "After vhat happened yesterday, I vas afraid that you vould never speak to me again, let alone touch me." Kurt looked down quickly.

Kitty was amazed. Kurt had thought that she would never want to touch him again? That was absurd to her. She shook her head at the thought, and reached out and took Kurt's hand. Kurt looked at her, and was surprised at the honesty and firmness in her face. "Kurt, don't you ever doubt for a second that I would not want you near me just because of some stupid things that may happen to us."

Kurt peered at their joined hands again; she didn't seem to care that they were touching. He looked back at her face and smiled at the sincerity that it held. He didn't even realize that his tail had begun swishing at her torso in impatience for wanting to feel her touch again. He only noticed it when she looked down at his tail and then back up at him. He grinned shyly at her.

Kitty smiled and felt only a slight pink taint her cheeks. Without saying another word, she ran her fingers over the spade again. Kurt softly shut his eyes in pleasure and contentment and leaned back in his seat. Kitty grinned to herself at how relaxed this made him. She began to firmly rub the spade between her fingers, and laughed inwardly when she heard him purr. This must be like a mini-massage for him, she thought with glee. She was happy to say the least; she got to touch his incredibly sexy tail, and he didn't mind it one bit.

Kitty couldn't hold back a giggle when the length just preceding his tip coiled around her wrist as she continued to rub his spade. She eventually leaned back in her own seat, but her hand never stopped caressing his tail and he never bothered removing his tail from her hand for the remainder of the trip. Both of them were perfectly comfortable, and Kurt wasn't going to stop her if she was willing to go through the trouble…

The jet landed in a valley a few hours later. The sun was not quite in the middle of the sky, the clouds were sparse, and the breeze was gentle. The X-Jet landed softly on the masses of green grass that danced lightly in the direction of the wind. The turbulence that had been assaulting the plane for a while had finally let up by the time they made their final approach into the valley. More than a few students had turned green from the onslaught of the constant motion that burdened the jet and all of them were only too eager to get out of there.

The multiple clicks of seat belts coming undone filled the air as Logan turned off the engine. Almost every student stood and rushed towards the exit. Logan did not look happy as he took in the sight of all the students clamoring to get off the plane.

"Hey!" All students shut up and turned to face Logan. "Act like you've been on a plane before and get off single file before I fly you to the top of the mountain and leave you there!" You could hear some of the students audibly gulp.

"Would he really do that?" Jamie whispered nervously to Rahne.

"What? Leave us to fend for ourselves in the untamable wilderness with only our wits as our means of survival?" Rahne said a little too casually. "Of course he wouldn't. It would be inhuman and it would supremely suck."

With some reluctance, Logan opened the door of the jet. Before any student could rush out he yelled back, "Single file and don't forget your stuff!"

It took a little longer than usual for the students to exit the plane. Though when they did finally get off the jet, more than a few of them dropped to their knees, kissed the ground with a loud declaration of "LAND!" Scott and Jean stood to the side of the door bidding each student farewell as they made their way off (Remy paused to look at the black marks on Scott's face and the slightly charred ends of his hair. After Scott's positively seething look at Remy's exiting back, Remy laughed quietly and wickedly to himself.)

After all of the students and teachers stood in a group on the ground, Jean and Scott gave them a final goodbye (and one last heated glance at Remy) and set off back towards the mansion in the jet.

"Ya see that?" Logan said to all of them pointing at the departing jet. "That's your only way off of this mountain. That jet ain't comin' back 'til I say you're ready to go back. And we got a whole three months before any of you will be missed." Logan was pleased at the amount of whimpers that he got from stating this.

"Now Ms. Munroe and Mr. McCoy will be helping you kids set up the campsite. In the meantime," Logan unsheathed his claws. "I'm gonna go scrounge us up some food." And with that, Logan bounded off into the forest that surrounded the valley.

More than a few kids were slightly shocked at the idea of Logan bringing back something dead for them to eat. "He's not going to make us eat anything raw, is he?" Roberto asked slowly.

"Nonsense. I have a positively delightful recipe for venison." Hank said with a grin. A few of the students' shoulders slumped in relief.

"But what about the people who are vegetarians?" Kitty asked, looking worried.

"And what about the people who are on Atkins?" Amara asked, looking annoyed.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Ororo said kindly. She clapped her hands together to draw all the students' attention. "All right, there will be two people to a tent. Girls will be situated on the left," Ororo indicated the proper space of the valley, "And boys will be on the right."

Remy raised his hand. "Where will de men be placed?" That earned quite a few sniggers from the kids.

"Right alongside the boys, Mr. LeBeau." Ororo answered firmly (It shut all of them up), and continued. "The area right in between

the two will serve as… ahem the facilities for both sexes."

"Do you need a cough drop?" Jamie asked curiously.

"No, thank you Jamie." Ororo continued. "Now there will be no more than two to a tent and under no circumstances will there be a co-ed tent."

"Oh come on. One or two co-ed tents won't get everyone knocked up." Matilda said (though no one really heard her). She sat in a distant tree, observing the scene from afar. She was sporting full camo gear complete with impressive camo face paint ("Even if that Professor does sense me, he won't be able to see me! maniacal cackle It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say!"). Matilda looked back through her Army issued binoculars at the group of mutants. She got an uncomfortably detailed close up of finger picking a nose. After making a disgusted face, she panned up and saw that it was only Ray. She turned her head to the left until she caught glimpse of Kitty's head.

"All right, everyone grab a partner, spin em' round, and do-se-do yourselves a tent!" Mr. McCoy said with a warm grin.

Everyone grumbled and paired off. Each student walked to the collective pile of luggage that contained their tents and personal belongings.

Kitty turned her head and looked at Rogue. "Do you want to be my roomie, roomie?"

Rogue rolled her eyes at Kitty's sugary cuteness. "Whatever." The two of them set off to grab a tent.

"Hmm." Matilda said, still peering through her binoculars. "With that Professor so close I can't suggest too much to them specifically without him revealing my presence here. He's probably going to be monitoring those four very closely after what happened yesterday." Matilda furrowed her eyebrows and stroked her invisible chin beard. "Well… if I can't get through to them presently, I need to get them away from this as soon as possible and that's kind of hard to do with an incredibly powerful telepath around…"

Matilda heard some rustling behind her. She looked behind her and down and saw a decent sized buck standing in the distance. Not far from it, and very well hidden, was Logan obviously on the hunt. Matilda cocked her head and studied Logan. She stroked her chin in thought; a smirk formed on her lips after a few moments in silence. "Hmm… maybe I don't have to speak to my subjects directly to get them alone… I mean, that Professor won't be in everybody's thoughts at once, will he?" Matilda shimmied down the tree and then vanished, to do God knows what.

It could be described as an orderly chaos, the campsite. Everyone from the large group had formed into several smaller groups and had themselves about doing various tasks. Most people were working on getting their tents set up while others were setting up basic utilities for the camp. Rogue and Kitty were working on putting up their tent. They were at the farthest end of the row of the girls' tents on the left; either subconsciously or intentionally, it happened to work out that they were the most distant from all the other girls.

"Hey Rogue?" Kitty asked, staring at the pamphlet of tent instructions. "Is there a pole thingy that looks like a cross between a wishbone and a llama?"

"Huh?"

Kitty pushed the instruction manual about three inches from Rogue's face. "That." She said, pointing to a diagram that the manufacturer had drawn out.

"Oh." Rogue held up one of the poles that did not remotely resemble a cross between a wishbone and a llama but was a perfect match to the one in the book. "You mean this?"

"Yes. Hi Mr. Llama-Wishbone." Kitty said, holding up the pole to her eyes.

Rogue rolled her eyes and resumed untangling the fabric of the tent from its packaging.

Kitty studied Rogue contemplatively for a moment. "Hey Rogue?" Rogue replied with an acknowledging sound in her throat. "Are you like mad at me or something?"

Rogue didn't look at Kitty but she paused briefly what she was doing. "What would make you say that?"

"Well you're not really talking to me so I was just wondering if I did something that like made you angry with me or something."

Rogue looked up at Kitty from her squatting position. Seeing the questioning expression on Kitty's face made Rogue feel guilty for giving her friend the cold shoulder. Rogue's eyes looked past Kitty to the right side of the campsite. Towards the middle, Remy and Piotr were setting up their own tent. Remy was connecting two poles together when his eyes connected with Rogue's. He grinned at her and winked before Rogue looked away blushing.

Kitty saw this entire exchange. She looked at Rogue; she had ducked her head and was working with a renewed fervor on their tent. "Oh." Kitty raised her eyebrows in surprise and acknowledgement. "Oh! You saw me talking to Remy today and thought…" A grin stretched its way across Kitty's features. Rogue didn't say anything; she kept her head bowed but her face continued to grow redder. Kitty crouched down to Rogue's level. "Rogue you have like nothing to worry about. There is absolutely nothing going on between me and Remy."

Rogue's eyes widened at Kitty's words. She looked up at her blue eyed friend and tried to look offended through her blush. "Kitty, Ah didn't say Ah was mad at you and Ah certainly wouldn't be mad at you over someone like Remy! By the way, Ah wouldn't even care if there was something going on between you and Remy. If ya'll are happy together, all the power to you, Ah have no vested interest in him!" Kitty arched an eyebrow at Rogue's incredibly overzealous outburst. Rogue began to reluctantly look sheepish under her friend's gaze. "Okay, maybe Ah have a slight vested interest in him."

"Mmm hmm. Slight." Kitty said, with a knowing smirk. Rogue immediately resumed assembling their tent. Kitty leaned in somewhat closer to Rogue and said to her in practically a whisper. "Just so you know, we were talking about you." Then she stood and went over to retrieve the main component of their tent.

Rogue stared at Kitty as she turned away from her. It was when her back was turned did Rogue let a small, mysterious smile play across her lips.

"This close… I was this close to nailing Tabitha, I swear." Ray said, indicating with his fingers.

"What guy isn't this close to nailing Tabitha?" Sam replied with a snort.

"Yeah, not impressed Ray." Bobby said, stretching his legs and propping them up on a log that was across from the rock he was sitting on. "Now if you bagged someone a little less easier to persuade like Amara or something, I might give you props."

"Oh please, the princess? Like any guy would want to try to thaw that fish." Ray said with a huff.

"I think a good pounding might loosen her up, if you know what I mean." Roberto said, making a suggestive motion with his hips.

"Besides, Tabitha's had more guys inside her than the Statue of Liberty. No challenge there." Bobby said, and then he directed his eyesight towards the opposite end of the camp. He thoughtfully stared at two particular girls. "Now Rogue, on the other hand, is a different story."

"Oh come on, she's like the hope diamond: nice to look at but deadly to touch." Sam said shaking his head.

"Man, she is nothing but a tragedy. The fact that her face and her body can never be touched…" Bobby shook his head at the thought. "Oh the things I could do with that." He then cocked his head thoughtfully at the other girl that stood with

Rogue. "Although, the little kitty cat ain't so bad herself."

"And the fact that she can be a little harem girl is pretty fuckin' hot." Roberto nodded in agreement.

"I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, I think getting a good fucking from Mr. Freeze himself would be a good thing for Ms. Pussy Pryde-" WHACK "OW! What-?" SLAM "OW!"

Kurt feigned surprise as he looked behind him at Bobby. "Oh I am sorry, Bobby! I did not even see you there! I really should be more careful vith these things, ja?" He said, patting the three long poles for his tent that he had propped on his left shoulder that he had used to hit Bobby in the head twice.

"Kurt, aren't you and Jamie at the other end of the row?" Sam asked cautiously.

"Ja, I am." Kurt replied, unashamedly. "So Bobby… vhat exactly vere you saying about mein schwester?" He asked, with an underlying threat in his voice.

Bobby looked at Kurt, tenderly rubbing his own head, with some fear in his eyes. "I was saying… I was saying what a lovely girl she is."

"Hmm. And vhat vere you saying about Keety?" Kurt asked, the threat being slightly more prominent in his voice.

Bobby audibly gulped; only he could see the danger that lurked behind Kurt's eyes at that moment. "Nothing. I didn't say anything at all about Kitty."

"Good." Kurt cast a cautionary (yet threatening) glance to all four of the boys who sat in that circle. "Keep it that vay." And he teleported with a BAMF and left them sitting there.

"Geez, you can't say anything without offending anyone anymore." Roberto said, slightly amazed at Kurt's actions.

"I know. I guess you're back to fantasizing about Rogue again, huh Bobby?"

"It's not that bad, Sam. I mean, if I'm going to jack off to something I can't think of anything better than Rogue and Rogue's rack and-" SLAP "OW! Who-"

"Remy hear you say one more thing about dat girl and any parts of her out of y' again, den he gonna kill y', y' understand?" Remy said, ignoring the fact that Bobby was tenderly rubbing his head where Remy had slapped it. Remy cast him another death glare when Bobby didn't respond.

"Yeah, yeah I understand." Remy cast him a single nod and turned and walked away.

"I guess Tabitha's not looking too bad now, is she?" Ray asked, with a smirk on his mouth.

"Shut up Ray." Bobby said bitterly, still rubbing his sore head.

Logan carried a four point buck over his shoulder as he traipsed back through the small forest surrounding the valley. The limp, lifeless creature bounced a little against his back with each step he took. He stopped suddenly; he took a harsh intake of breath through his nostrils. There was something there; he could smell it in the air. A presence was floating on the wind down from one of the mountains that was at the south end of the valley. Logan looked behind him and narrowed his eyes at the tall mountain that was one of several that surrounded them. He narrowed his eyes and let out a low growl. There was something on that mountain that didn't feel right… it felt almost… evil…

"So that's where Hirane has set up shop." Matilda said, as she poked her head out from behind the tree that she was standing. She looked up at the mountain that had Logan's attention. "He's closer than I thought he would be. I wonder how much time he's had to grow strong…"

"Chuck!" Logan called out to the Professor, who was sitting in his wheel chair at the edge of the forest watching the children set up the camp.

"Logan…" Professor Xavier's eyes traveled to the carcass of the dead deer. "I see that you brought us back something to eat." He said, trying to hide his obvious queasiness through a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it later in a spot where the kids won't see." Logan looked around suspiciously at the woods as though something might leap out suddenly. "Chuck, I don't know if you know this already but we ain't alone around here."

"Yes, it seems that there is more than one presence that tinges the air. One of them, continues to go unexplained in its desires." Charles looked beyond Logan at the trees and darted his eyes back and forth for a few minutes (Matilda ducked behind a tree again) before returning his attention to Logan. "But the other, it seems, has left more of a calling card."

The Professor pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Logan. "What's this?" Logan asked as he unfolded the paper and read its contents.

"That is a warning flyer that a ranger dropped off while you were gone. It seems that over the past month or so there have been several unexplained disappearances in this area. Hikers, campers, some families have all disappeared from this group of mountains without leaving so much as a trace. They actually sent out a search team, but even a few of their workers who were on foot disappeared themselves. The rangers' station has already closed off several parts of the forest and the river completely to rafters. So far, no bodies have been found."

"I only got one word for that: weird." Logan looked as though he were thinking for a moment. "Well, actually I got two words for that: weird and creepy."

"Yes, my sentiments exactly. The ranger said that they are actually quite close to shutting down the park completely for an indeterminable amount of time." The Professor said, casting a worried glance around his surroundings.

"Well, whatever it is, I can tell you right now that the source of it all is on that mountain right there." Logan said, pointing at the southern peak. "The smell comin' off of that wind from there…" Logan shook his head disgustedly. "Reeks of death."

The Professor nodded knowingly; he steepled his fingers under his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if the presence that I have been feeling lately is somehow connected to this…"

"Not exactly connected, but I can see where he's going with that." Matilda said, thoughtfully looking at the blue sky through the canopy of trees.

"Think we should look into it?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Professor took a breath in before answering. "No. It's best not to try and put our nose in something that is probably just a crazed lunatic terrorizing innocent people. At least, not with the children here. If you were alone, it would be a different story but almost all the students are present and I don't want to take any chances with them in such a great number. I have faith that the authorities will figure this out one way or another. But we should be prepared that this may cut our trip short to some extent."

"Right. In the meantime, I'll keep the kids as far away as possible from that mountain." Logan said, handing back the flyer to the Professor.

"Yes, it's best not to let them know about this. It might start some kind of panic." The Professor folded the flyer again and placed it gently at his side. "Or one or more of the students might get the bright idea to investigate the recent happenings thus putting themselves in great danger." Both men began to make their way back to the campsite.

"We both know that some of them definitely have it in them. Besides, it might get these kids on a damned urban legend kick. The last thing I need is these kids confusing survival training with a camping trip." Logan said with a most disgusted look on his face.

"It's not Logan?"

"You will not see a smore or hear a campfire story under my watch Chuck." The Professor would have laughed, but he knew Logan was being serious.

When both men's backs were turned, our favorite little love spirit snuck up behind them and stole the flyer from the Professor's wheel chair. "God this sucks!" She exclaimed as she stepped further away from them, unfolding the flyer. "I have to act like a common mortal because of him and his ability to somehow sense me. I hate having to do this damn sneaking around bit! The sooner I get my people away from all of this, the bet… ter…"

Matilda trailed off as she got a good look at the flyer. It had collected pictures of all the people who had gone missing in these mountains. She knew that Hirane would be killing but what surprised her was how many he had managed to kill already. According to the flyer, quite a few. In fact, a lot.

Matilda ghosted her hand over the smiling faces that stared at her from the paper. They were all pictures sent in by the family and friends of the missing, so of course they were pictures during the happy times of these peoples' lives. Pictures taken at parties for a few, on vacation for others, and even a few high school year book pictures of three young boys. All of them were smiling, and Matilda felt sad that these pictures were not accurate of what these people looked like before they were killed. She knew none of these people were smiling in their last moments of life. She actually knew for a fact that they were all probably in agony. At the bottom of the paper, her hand stopped at the picture of a smiling family. A mom and dad and two cute little boys, both that couldn't have been older than nine. What struck her about this picture though was what the mother was holding in her arms. Her fingers lightly traced the face of the baby that couldn't have been more than a few months old. Matilda's face clouded over with sadness. She was only capable of saying one thing at that moment. "Hirane… you monster… what have you done?..." Matilda vanished suddenly, letting the flyer float discarded to the ground. She had much to think about.

Only a few moments later did these actions of Matilda have repercussions. Jamie was running away from Rahne who was in her wolf form. "Come on Rahne, give me a little more slack before you catch me!" Jamie laughed. Rahne clearly did not listen to him, as a second later she pounced on him and pressed him to the forest ground with her great big wolf paws. "Okay, okay, you win! Uncle! Just don't start licking me!"

"Oh please!" Rahne exclaimed, changing back into her human form, so she was straddling a much smaller Jamie in what was for once a purely non-sexual manner. "That would be like licking my little brother, so no thank you!" She rolled off of him and

collapsed on the floor of the forest to pant.

"You think of me as your little brother?" Jamie asked, propping his head on his palm to look at her.

"Well you are five years younger than me so that makes you fit the little brother role quite well actually-" Rahne stopped suddenly when she spied something on the ground beside her head. "What's this?" She asked herself, grabbing the piece of paper and skimming her eyes over it.

"We haven't been here a day and already people are littering. Just what is happening to the moral ethics of the X-Men that I was once so proud of-"

"Jamie… shut up and look at this." Rahne said firmly, and then pushing the paper in front of his face. Together they read the contents of the flyer again before looking at each worriedly.

"Okay, who wants a Bambi burger?" Doctor McCoy said, presenting the first venison sandwich to the small assembly in front of the fire that Amara had helped start. Dusk was painting the sky a beautiful shade of orange and red, but due to the mountains that surrounded them, the setting sun was not visible. Almost all of the students had a look on their faces that was a mixture of horror and disgust at the idea of eating anything with the word "Bambi" in it. Sam was the first one to step up, as this would not be the first time that he had tried venison. Very hesitantly, a line formed behind Sam that included all the students save a few.

"Ah think it's just something everyone's telling each other to give it that eerie atmosphere. You know, it's like back at summer camp whenever someone would start the rumor that there's a crazed psycho serial killer that just escaped from the mental institution and he's been sighted in the woods or something." Rogue said, folding her arms across her chest. She, Remy, Piotr, Kitty, Kurt, Ray, and Tabby stood towards the edge of the right row of tents close to the forest.

"Yeah, but Rahne told Roberto who told Alex who told Warren who told me that the rangers have been on an alert for like the past month." Tabby said, inspecting her hot pink painted nails.

"Why have the Professor or Logan not said anything?" Piotr wondered aloud.

"They probably didn't want anyone to panic…" Ray said, and then paused, considering his own words. "Good luck."

"And knowing the kids around here, someone would be stupid enough to pull a Scooby and investigate." Rogue said, rolling her eyes.

"Right! Like I would want to get lost in the woods just to have someone go Blair Witch on my ass." Tabby said, sounding almost on the verge of sarcastic laughter. "Please. I don't think any kid here would even be that suicidal."

"Ah wouldn't put it past them…" Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Why are the X-Men not looking into this?" Piotr said, with that familiar hero's light shining in his eyes.

"Case in point…" Rogue said, smirking.

Remy looked around at his surroundings as if searching for something. "Don't see Mags, Apocalypse, on any anti-mutant protestors 'round here. Derefore, Remy see no reason fo' de X-Men t' get involved."

"We are staying in the same park, are we not? People are in danger and we have the ability to help. It is only logical that we do everything in our power to help."

"But Piotr, this is something that ve have no experience vith. I know it is hard to believe, but the Professor vould probably feel more comfortable vith us going into battle against Apocalypse or the Brotherhood then vhat is likely to be a psychotic serial killer vho sews human skins together and then vears them as a coat." Kurt said. Everyone was looking at him with their mouths slightly hanging open and their eyebrows furrowed.

"And that is the last time you're watching Silence of the Lambs." Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Da, I am not even sure that I will be able to sleep here with that thought in my mind." Piotr said, without a hint of humor in his voice.

"Remy think what Bleu is trying t' say is dat we should let de local authorities handle it, since it be dere problem." Remy said, stepping forward from the tree that he had been casually leaning on. Remy did not think much of it when Kurt offered no response. "'Sides, what makes ya'll think dat dis psycho be skinin' people? It be much more likely dat we be dealin' wit' a cannibal, dey're more common."

"Remy, you could have just stopped before that." Rogue said, shaking her head as though she was trying to get the idea of eating human flesh out of her brain (then again, aren't we all?). "We're about to go eat what used to be one of God's creatures, Ah don't need the idea of eating people to follow me every time Ah try to eat meat from now on."

"But I don't know what the problem is. Like anyone would try to skin or eat a group this big." Tabitha said, rolling her neck. "I mean, as long as we all stick together, or no one wanders off, or gets separated from the rest of us we should be fine."

"Or he could be torturing people." Ray said, quite randomly and in a disturbingly calm manner. All of his companions gave him a strange look. "Hey, it's possible! The psycho could be torturing people by raping the women and then gutting all his victims while they're still alive and then finally killing them by hanging them from the tall tree branches."

All of Ray's compatriots stared at the boy. "Ah'm not sure whether to be impressed with your imagination or to run away screaming." Rogue said.

Ray narrowed his eyes at Rogue. "Ray come on. That sort of thing only happens in the movies." Tabitha said, shaking her head. "He's probably burying people alive and tape recording the sounds of their screams as they slowly die." Everyone looked at Tabitha incredulously. "What? That's way more likely to happen than people being gutted on a branch!"

"Tabitha…" Kurt said, with a soft urgency as he looked at Kitty.

"Nuh-uh. He probably dismembered their arms and legs from their bodies and then let the wolves eat the torso while he kept the heads!"

"Ray…" Kurt said sharply through his gritted teeth.

"Y' know, it is a possibility dat he could be breakin' every bone in dere bodies and then foldin' people up like a dress and puttin' dem in a box."

"Remy!" Kurt finally had their attention. Rogue and Piotr had grimaced looks on their faces from the very unwanted mental images that resulted from this conversation, but they didn't hold a candle to how Kitty was faring. The poor girl was shaking so much that it was barely visible, her face was as white as a sheet, her eyes had widened substantially and were darting around fearfully at their surroundings, and she had her arms wrapped around herself protectively. Kurt looked sympathetically at Kitty and spoke again. "Can ve change the subject? That kind of talk around here vould make Logan jumpy."

"Uh-huh, right Blue." Tabitha said with a smirk. Her eyes fell on Kitty holding a slightly evil glint. "I wouldn't be too scared Kitty Kat. After all, you've got Kurt here to protect you." She and Ray both laughed aloud. Kitty cast her eyes down towards the ground as that all to familiar pink spread across her face.

Kurt looked at the two students angrily before looking at Kitty. His gaze softened almost instantly and when he looked back at Tabby and Ray, he was genuinely smiling. "That's right." He said, as Kitty looked at him curiously. "I vill be here to protect her." Kurt smiled at Kitty and put an arm around her shoulders. "Just as she is here to protect me." Kitty smiled warmly back at her friend.

Tabby scoffed, crossed her arms, and looked away snobbishly (only because she couldn't think of something to say to that). Ray scratched his crazy colored hair awkwardly. Rogue and Remy smirked at the two; Piotr remained stoic. "Well, Ah don't know about ya'll, but Ah think that there's a Bambi burger at that fire with mah name on it."

"Could we not call them that comrades?" Piotr asked, sounding like a wounded puppy.

Remy leaned in close to Rogue (he gripped her arm lightly so she wouldn't pull away) and whispered in her ear, "He has dis soft spot fo' Disney movies." Rogue couldn't help it; she giggled causing Piotr to look back at her with the knowledge that they were saying something about him.

"Vant to go grab some venison? It's delicious!" Kurt said with a grin to Kitty (his arm still draped over her shoulders).

"Actually, it will be a bowl of trail mix for me." Kitty smiled as Kurt kept his arm around her as they walked back towards the fire. Kitty cast one last worried glance towards the forest. "Hey Kurt…" Kurt looked at her with expectant eyebrows raised. "You don't think we're in danger here, do you?"

Kurt grinned reassuringly at his friend. "Of course not Kätzchen. As long as ve stay in the valley, ve should be fine." Kitty seemed satisfied with this answer and savored the feeling of Kurt's strong arm touching her. They continued back to the campsite looking forward to eating some venison and trail mix.

Tabitha and Ray stared at the elf and the cat's retreating backs. They both then looked at the forest that held so many secrets in the depths of trees that grew. "There's nothing to worry about, right? I mean, Kitty was just being… Kitty." Tabitha said after a minute of looking suspiciously at the darkness that lurked between the great trees.

"Right. She was just being a fraidy cat." Ray said, smiling at his own pun (and also to fake his sense of security).

They had just begun walking back towards everyone else when they heard a rustle in the bushes. Slowly they turned back to the forest with wide, surprised eyes.

"What was that?" Tabitha whispered to Ray.

They waited a second longer. The forest was still once again. "Probably just a woodland animal or something. They do live in this area you know-"

The sound of a stick snapping cut Ray off mid-sentence. They both snapped their heads back towards the forest looking a little less smug, and a little more scared. They waited a second for any more noises. And another second. And another. And another.

They both let out the breath that they did not realize they had both been holding. They probably would have laughed… had they not heard breathing coming from somewhere in the forest. And this wasn't just any old breathing… this was very heavy, very raspy, very evil sounding breathing. Being in the forest, no one can ever tell exactly where the source of sounds are, but this breathing sounded too close for comfort.

With their eyes so wide that they nearly occupied half of their face, Tabitha and Ray looked terrified at each other before they darted as fast as humanly possible back to the safety of their numbers. Even if they had stuck around for a second longer, they still would not have seen a small figure fall out of her perch on the tree onto the forest floor, unable to even stand as she clutched her sides in an unending wave of laughter.

"Oh… I'm bad…" Matilda said, as she wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up slightly. She was on her side and rested her head in her palm, still containing the chuckles at the remembrance of those kids' faces. "Oh… maybe I should give up the love spirit gig, and try my hand at being the spirit who scares the crap out of teenagers so that they won't have premarital sex." Matilda smirked at the sky as the first stars appeared in the still blue sky. "But that wouldn't be as fun as encouraging under age kids to have premarital sex. Plus, that would put Hugh out of a job."

Matilda heard a bout of laughter over at the campfire. "I guess the two freaked out kids have returned to their audience. Serves them right for making fun of poor Kitty for being scared." Matilda's smile quickly turned to a frown. "I wish that it was true about them being safe in this valley, but the truth is…" Matilda sat up fully and looked at the southern mountain. That horrible mountain that she knew she had to lead those four kids towards. "That Professor is a smart man for desiring to keep the students out of Hirane's path. As powerful a telepath he is, even he can't see how dangerous Hirane is. From what Felix told me and what those mortal rangers know, Hirane has been feeding for about a month and it seems that he has already consumed quite a few victims. It won't be long before his roots reach this very valley. And if he gets beyond the valley, then all of human kind will be nothing more than fertilizer to him. And I'm going to lead four innocent people straight into his clutches… that is if I want to keep my word to Felix." Matilda sighed as she looked back towards the campfire. "I always keep my word. Love is about trust and faith and promises, and I am love incarnate. If I don't keep my promises, then I'm nothing more than a fucking hypocrite." Her dark eyes focused on her four subjects. "Maybe I'm not giving them enough credit. They're all four strong and smart. I have faith that they will be able to handle Hirane." Matilda affirmed, mostly to herself. "Besides, I have to get them alone for a couple of days if I want them to get together."

Matilda looked back at the campsite where everyone was huddling around as the air grew somewhat colder. "They won't be staying up much longer. The Professor wouldn't want them wandering around in the dark. I could actually get some work done tonight if he weren't watching them like a hawk. But it doesn't matter much I suppose. If that Logan guy listens to my suggestion about taking them up one of the mountains for a hike tomorrow, then I should be able to get them alone and at my mercy soon enough. But in the meantime…" Matilda looked over to her girls' tent. "Time to be naughty…" And she quickly crawled over to the tent, army style, with her camo gear and the cover of the impending darkness shielding her from unwanted eyes.

"Rassa… frassa… wilderness ways…" Rogue mumbled to herself as she stumbled out of her tent. Holding her toiletries in her arms, she stalked grumpily over to the edge of valley where their "facilities" were supposed to be and hoped to God that no one was squatting in the bushes at that moment. It was the lightest point in the night and it wasn't completely dark yet. The Professor (as a safety precaution) had said that if anyone had to leave their tent after nightfall, they would have to have someone with them. That time had not yet come, so Rogue saw no danger in brushing her teeth by herself. But what an ordeal it was to actually brush her teeth!

Rogue opened one of Kitty's bottles of Aquafina (she hoped her roommate wouldn't notice one shy) and poured a small amount of the water over the bristles of her toothbrush. She secured the cap back on the bottle and set it on the ground, before pushing out a small amount of toothpaste onto her toothbrush. And then she began to scrub, scrub, scrub. Ahh, minty goodness... with the distant stench of cigarette smoke wafting itself through her nostrils very suddenly.

What the… Rogue thought as she turned in the direction of what she believed was the source of the smell. She really should have figured out who in their right mind would be smoking in the middle of a forest. In Remy's defense though, he had never really paid attention to those Smoky the Bear commercials as a child.

"Are you insane?" Rogue said to Remy as he held a cigarette between his lips and lit up with a card decorated zippo lighter (although with a toothbrush in her mouth it sounded more like "Mmph mmph mmmmph?"). He stood not too far away from her, clad in his trench coat. He took a drag from his cigarette before exhaling through his nostrils.

"Now, all Remy heard was…" Remy then did a dead on impersonation of the teacher from the Charlie Brown shows… and then took another drag from his cigarette.

Rogue rolled her eyes and spit out her toothpaste. "Ah said, 'are you insane'?"

"Born an' bred." Remy said, with a happy grin.

"Ah'm serious! Smokin' out in the middle of a forest? Not only are you killin' yourself, but you're also pollutin' the air that the rest of us have to breathe."

"If de next thing y' say is 'de power is yours', den y' need more help den Remy thought chèrie."

Rogue glared at Remy and he gave her a smile that should have won a prize. "Actually, the next thing Ah was going to say is that 'only you can prevent forest fires'." To say the least, Rogue was thrown off by Remy's confused expression. "If you toss that butt down, it will most likely set fire to the forest and to the camp itself, thus killing us all. Haven't you ever seen Smoky the Bear?"

"Can't say dat Remy ever paid too much attention to dose commercials." (See? Told you so). Remy finished his cigarette and Rogue believed that he was about to flick it away, but instead he surprised her by pulling a little plastic baggie out of his pocket and disposing the butt in there. Remy looked up and Rogue's pleasantly surprised face. "See chère? Remy care about de environment too, Linka."

Rogue allowed a humored grin to spread across her face. "The fact that you even know about that show just shows how old you are." A very odd thought crossed Rogue's mind as she said this. Am I flirting with the Swamp Rat?

"De fact dat y' know what show Remy's talkin' about, says how old you are." Remy teased back. Is Rogue… the beautiful, untouchable, hard-as-nails Rogue… flirting with me?

"Oh don't even go there." Rogue crossed her arms and looked away from him and he came closer to her. "Besides, Ah was more of a Gi person mahself."

Remy chuckled at her joke as he stood just a few inches in front of her. His grin faded as he got a good look at her. She had washed her day's makeup off and her skin looked radiant and her eyes looked larger. Her medium length hair was pulled into a loose top knot on the top of her scalp and her silvery, wispy, white bangs framed her face. She was wearing a loose fitting pair of forest green, satin pajama pants and a long sleeved, white shirt hung loosely on her body. He noted that she was not wearing a pair of gloves that night. Remy was amazed that she still looked absolutely beautiful even when she went to sleep.

Rogue looked confused when Remy did not say anything for a few moments. She raised her eyebrows and her lips parted slightly. It was the parting of her lips that captivated Remy's attention. His red and black eyes stared at them for God knows how long. That night they were devoid of that thick, awful, purple lipstick that Rogue insisted on wearing every friggin' day, so at that moment they were their natural shade of deep pink. They had a beautiful and natural fullness, and looked so incredibly soft.

Remy had to admit, besides his infatuation with Rogue's eyes, next would have to come her lips (actually he admired all of her quite equally). And when Remy LeBeau saw a beautiful pair of lips, he knew that there was only one thing to do to them…

"What?" Rogue said after a few moments of silence. "Did Ah say somethin' the Ragin' Cajun didn't like?" Okay, that was definitely flirting with him, she thought.

"Non." Remy said, dazedly shaking his head. "Remy just… tryin' t' figure out… why he can't stop starin' at y'r lips."

Any smile that Rogue once had was immediately gone. Panic hit her square in the chest as he lightly placed his hands on her sleeved biceps. Oh no, she thought with panic. He's going to try and kiss me again. And I think… the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. …I think I want him to!

Rogue knew that there wasn't anything wrong with wanting to kiss Remy. The man had very nice lips himself (people just seem to bypass the lips and go straight for the eyes). Remy's lips were thin but not too thin; Rogue loved the slight fullness of the middle of his lower lip that seemed more pronounced whenever he smiled. And they were perfectly shaped. And Rogue wanted those lips on her own…

It seemed that her wish was about to come true. Remy's face began the familiar path of descent towards Rogue's face. Rogue froze, if not in fright, then in desire. She both wanted and dreaded a kiss from him, for reasons that she could not fully explain to herself in the heat of that moment.

But… I can't let him kiss me… he would get hurt and I would have to deal with him being another voice in my head… Rogue thought, as her eyes which just a moment ago shimmered lightly with hope and anticipation, now became clouded with sadness and realization. I don't want that, I want him to be out here, not in my brain…

But Rogue couldn't just jerk her face away again. She couldn't face that disappointment in his eyes again. She couldn't stand for him to see her emptiness again. But she couldn't move. Why? Because she really wanted him to kiss her…

Think fast Rogue, think fast! She thought.

Remy's lips were just an inch (not even) away from hers when her own lips curled into an incredibly sexy smirk. Her eyes suddenly glittered with mirth as she looked into his eyes, which just a moment ago had been glazed with lust were now clouded with confusion.

"Chère?"

Rogue arched an eyebrow at him and those full lips grew into a wanton grin. "Now… Ah might have let you kiss meh just now Swamp Rat… but Ah just brushed mah teeth and you just had a cigarette. And quite honestly, Ah don't want to go to bed smellin' like an ash tray." Rogue knew that this time there was no denying it… she was very much flirting with the Swamp Rat. My… how very bold of me…

Remy opened and closed his mouth in frustration, but said nothing. He was about to say something when Rogue turned to leave and briefly- just briefly- her eyes flashed with that unbearably familiar loneliness. "'Night Swamp Rat." Rogue said, flashing Remy a brief grin as she walked back to her tent.

Remy watched her until he knew she was zipped up safely inside the confines of the tent. He swallowed trying to rid himself of the lump that had formed in his throat. "Remy can't keep doin' dis." He said quietly to himself. He looked at the shadowed outline of her form within the tent as she shut off the lantern that it contained and her shape faded with the rest of the darkness. "An' she can't keep doin' dis to herself." Remy shook his head. "Not gonna make it through de week without touchin' her." He looked up at the moon that had begun showing more brilliantly. His eyes stayed on the sky as though he was making a declaration to God himself. "Somehow… Ah gotta make her feel lo-" He stopped himself before he said it; he wasn't ready for that, not yet. "Ah got t' make her feel somethin'… whether she likes it or not."

Kitty rolled over once in her sleeping bag to the point where she was on her side. Why was she having such a hard time getting to sleep tonight? Oh right. There's probably an insane psycho murderer lurking about close-by somewhere. Kitty sighed and laid on her back once more.

Kitty shut her eyes and tried counting sheep. "One Baah. Two Baah. Three Ba-" Kitty stopped mid-count when the mental sheep was suddenly devoid of fleece, completely skinned, and laying limply on it's side on the grassy hill that the sheep had been jumping over. A black figure suddenly appeared hunched over the poor sheep. The sheep kicked out limply as Kitty realized that the figure was eating the poor thing alive! The figure suddenly brought it's head up (still enshrouded in black) and gritted it's white teeth, that stood out starkly at the darkness. The sheep's blood was dripping from its mouth and running down its chin…

Kitty's eyes shot open and she shook her head trying to free herself from that God-awful mental image. Okay, that didn't work, she thought. She tried to think of what methods had worked for her mother when she was trying to put Kitty to sleep when she was a child. She smiled when she thought of a bed time story.

"Okay, once upon a time, a group of young mutants went into the mountains to learn how to survive in the wild when they were all viciously slaughtered by a madman…" Kitty shut her eyes in frustration; that clearly was not how she wanted that story to go.

What else did her mother do? Of course, a lullaby! "Night, night. Sleep tight. Go to sleep and dream..." She sang softly to herself. "One, two… Freddy's coming for you…" Kitty winced in frustration. "Dang it! I could kill Rogue for making me watch those stupid scary movies!" Kitty said, softly to herself but not feeling any relief to her frustration. She briefly entertained the thought of masturbating (an orgasm would definitely tire her some) but dropped the idea when she reminded herself that Rogue wasn't two feet away from her and, honestly, all this fear really didn't put her in the mood. She crossed her arms and stared sternly at the ceiling of the tent. "I don't know why I'm freaking myself out. Kurt's right… as long as we stay in the valley and all together we should be fine! No flesh crazed maniac is going to come down here and stand outside my tent waiting to kill… me…"

Kitty trailed off as her eyes suddenly went wide at the side of the dark outline of a tall figure outside the opening to her tent. She opened her mouth slightly to scream but found that she had lost her voice as the dark figure dropped to its knees in front of her tent. Kitty covered her entire head with her sleeping bag when she heard the figure slowly begin to unzip the entrance. Oh God… I'm going to die! She thought with panic. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to keep quiet as she felt some weight sandwich itself in between her own still form and Rogue's. She couldn't help the gasp that came out when she felt a hand at the top of her sleeping bag begin to tug at the fabric.

Kitty flung her arms protectively over her head and pulled her body into the fetal position as she felt her head become free of her only protection. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

"Keety?" Kurt asked, not even trying to hide the amusement in his voice.

Kitty's eyes shot open (this time in fury) and rolled over to look at her laughing (former) best friend. Kitty sat up and slapped Kurt hard in the chest ("Ow!" he exclaimed). "Kurt! How dare you scare me like that!"

Kurt was no longer laughing but was instead rubbing his now sore chest. "Did I really deserve that Kätzchen? It is not my fault that you allow yourself to become scared so easily."

"Oh please! Kurt, everyone is scared like just a little bit, even if they don't own up to it." Kitty eyed him for the first time since his entrance. He was wearing a pair of black pajama pants and a plain white undershirt. "What are you doing in here anyway? The Professor said that no one is allowed out after dark without a buddy."

Kurt shrugged and stretched out beside her. A grin suddenly encompassed his oddly handsome features and he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kitty's forehead. Kitty's face softened and her eyes looked at him confusedly. "I just vanted to kiss you goodnight." Kitty suddenly smiled at her friend. It was a really sweet gesture, even though it was most certainly a friend kiss and not the kind of kiss she really wanted.

Kurt's grin softly faded into a serious expression. Kitty looked confused until Kurt suddenly leaned forward again, this time pressing a kiss at the base of her neck. She shuddered at the sensation of having his lips there. Okay, that didn't feel like a friend kiss…

Kurt locked eyes with her as he began to unbutton her pink cotton pajama top. Kitty's eyes only got wider as he gently pushed her onto her back.

"Kurt… what are you…" Kitty panted as he placed another kiss at her newly exposed collar bone.

"I am not done kissing you good night…" He replied, as his hands moved further and further down releasing each button they met.

"What about Rogue, she's right there…" Kitty trailed off in a gasp when Kurt's soft furry hand lightly trailed up the strip of exposed skin that now existed between the two parts of Kitty's top.

"Not a problem." Kurt said, gesturing in Rogue's direction with his head. Kitty looked and discovered that Rogue wasn't even in the tent with them. Any further thoughts of Rogue were quickly banished as Kitty felt Kurt slowly inch apart her top exposing even more skin for his view.

Kitty looked nervously at his face as he fully parted her top leaving her small breasts exposed for his viewing. Kitty inwardly cringed, and shut her eyes not wanting to see his reaction to her "inadequate" chest. She did, however, feel his reaction to her chest as he lightly skimmed his thick, blue fingers over her sensitive peaks. She let out a gasp at his actions and then a soft moan as his lips again pressed themselves to her neck.

Kurt trailed kisses down the length of Kitty's über sensitive neck as his three fingered hands gently fondled her breasts. He stroked her soft, puffy nipple and when it became a hard, pink little point, he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. Kitty's eyes fluttered open as she felt Kurt's lips move lower to her collar bone again. She couldn't help trembling as his lips inched closer and closer to the top of the swell of her cleavage.

Kitty clenched her eyes shut as Kurt began placing several soft kisses over both her breasts. When his lips came across a nipple, he closed his lips around it and gently massaged the sensitive peak with his tongue. Kitty breathed in sharply; no man had ever made her feel the things that Kurt was making her feel… hell, no man had touched her in this manner before, ever! But Kitty would be lying if she said that she wasn't enjoying it.

The thumb of Kurt's right hand was presently making circles over Kitty's right nipple while his mouth worked on her left breast. His unoccupied hand was playing with the strands of her hair that had fanned over the top of her sleeping bag. Kitty buried both her hands in his hair that had created a curtain around his face as he bent over her. It was not that she wasn't having fun or anything of that sort, but this teasing was leaving her in a very frustrated state. As if reading her thoughts, Kurt's tail began to snake a trail down her torso before the spaded tip disappeared into her lavender cotton panties.

Kitty whimpered as Kurt's tail immediately went to work. The pointed spade went directly to her clit and wasted no time as it began to rub back and forth furiously. Kitty was in a blissful delirium; Kurt's tail was rubbing at an incredibly fast pace and the pressure it had applied to her sensitive little bud felt just like one of her fingers. It helped that his tail was unrelenting in its pattern.

Kitty moaned softly and gripped the strands of Kurt's hair a little harder. "Kurt…" She gasped as she closed her eyes in amazement of the sensations that he was bringing out in her. "Why are you…"

Kurt discontinued his ministrations on her breast; he released her nipple with a soft suckling sound (she moaned slightly in protest) as he raised his head to look at her very flushed face. All the while he spoke, his tail never let up. "I am just trying to get you to relax Keety. This vill help sleep come to you easier."

Kitty briefly mused whether or not she could persuade Kurt to help her fall asleep every night. Then his mouth began to suck on her right nipple while his hand played with her left breast and she was no longer coherent.

Kurt moved the tip of the spade further down so that it was the flat of his tail that was rubbing Kitty and it was covering more of her sensitive flesh. Kitty moaned loudly (Did anyone hear that? She wondered for a second) and tossed her head back; she was close and Kurt could tell that.

Kitty whimpered and shut her eyes. Unconsciously, she was grinding her hips up to meet his tail as that lovely heat began spreading from her covered heat. Never ceasing the movements of his tail, Kurt removed his mouth from her succulent breasts and moved his body up to be level with her face. He looked down into her sparkling blue eyes; the look in his golden yellow eyes… there was no mistake that it was desire.

Kitty's eyes shot open as she felt that knot inside her tighten to its breaking point. She began to gasp as that knot suddenly came undone and she arched towards his body like never before. She was right at the peak of the most incredible orgasm of her young life when his mouth began to come closer to her partially parted pink lips. Kitty began to bring her own lips to his and they were coming so close that she could count his eyelashes when-

Not a week had passed before Logan decided it was time for the school to return to the mansion. Apparently the threat of a possible psycho killer sharing their park overshadowed the importance of them learning survival training. Almost every student was happy to be rid of that creepy atmosphere, but a few students were not so relieved.

Rogue had spent the week darting Remy's advances, which wasn't unusual for them but towards the end of the trip, Remy seemed… un-Remy like. He seemed so serious around her and less flirtatious. Rogue played with the notion that it must have been something she said or did and replayed almost every encounter they had in her mind, trying to pinpoint what it was that made Remy act so strangely.

The evening they returned to the mansion, all the students sat around the dining room table to have supper as usual. Rogue stole glances in Remy's direction whenever she knew he was not looking and he seemed to take no notice of her. That's a switch, she thought, he's avoiding me now.

The students who did not immediately go upstairs to bed all went into the living room to fight over the TV. Rogue did not feel up to dealing with a large group of rowdy teens but did not feel like going to sleep yet. Hence why she was by herself kitchen standing over the sink, as she had offered to do the dishes for Ororo.

Scrub, scrub, scrub. Rogue peered up from the plate that she was cleaning at nothing in particular… and then she let out a sigh. She found herself doing that quite a bit as of late. She never thought that she would find herself missing the old Remy and his advances, no matter how uncomfortable or sad they made her feel. She let out another sigh before returning her attention to the plate that she had been scrubbing for the past five minutes. Not because it was incredibly dirty (it was actually one of the least filthy ones), but because she kept getting distracted from cleaning the damn thing and forgot that it was already spick and span.

Rogue had just set the plate on top of her "clean" stack and was about to pick up the next one when the door suddenly slammed open on its hinges. She turned quickly to face a very serious looking Remy. His jaw was set and the rest of his face looked very strained with emotion.

"Remy?" Rogue asked, wondering what could possibly have him looking so… dangerous at that moment. "Remy, what's the matter?"

Remy's eyes traveled up and down the length of Rogue's form before answering. "Ah can't do dis anymore Rogue."

First person… not a good sign. "Can't do wha-"

"Dis." He replied, gesturing with his hand at the space between them. "Keepin' m' distance. Seein' y' sad. J'st watchin' y'. Ah can't do it no more." Remy's eyes met hers and the mutual desire between them became blatantly obvious. "Ah'm sorry Rogue. But Ah can't do de friend thing. Ah need y'… and Ah know dat y' need m'."

Rogue turned her back towards him and her front towards the counter. Everything he said was true, and Rogue was secretly ecstatic to hear him say that he needed her, but…

Right. Those damn powers of hers. "Remy… just move on. Please? Ah can never give you what you're asking for and-" Rogue did not get the chance to finish; she felt the air that was in the space between them close suddenly when she felt Remy quickly come up behind her and roughly grab her shoulders.

Rogue gasped and shuddered all at once when she felt his hot breath on her neck as he growled into her ear, "Don't y' do dat! Don't go pretendin' dat dis is somethin' y' don't want! Don't y' push m' away! Ah can't take it anymore! A man's got limits Rouge."

Many things were going through Rogue's mind at once: the feel of his strong chest pressing her back firmly against him, the surprising excitement that she felt upon hearing his very possessive words, the growing dampness and warmth in her suddenly soaked under garments, and, of course, his very obvious arousal that he had pressed firmly against her backside. But she couldn't risk hurting him, she just couldn't bear that knowledge that she had him in her brain somewhere.

"Remy…" She said softly and shakily. "We can't… Ah can't…" She gasped when his arms slipped around her waist and pulled her tighter against him.

"Yes… y' can." Remy said firmly. One arm was kept diligently wrapped around her waist while the other snaked down to her lower region and slipped up under her skirt. Rogue's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she felt him roughly slip her panties partly down her thighs, stopping just above her knees.

"Remy, please…" She said, not really sure what she was begging for. Just as she spoke "please", Remy pulled the skirt up to bunch at her waist. She moaned out loud when she felt his very naked, very large member prodding her bare bottom. "Remy, we really can't do this- oh God…" She gasped as she felt his thick tip barely slip into her wet, tight, channel.

"Tell m' t' stop." He said, firmly into her ear. She tried to ignore the feelings he was bringing out in just being slightly inside of her in an attempt to look in his eyes, but was failing miserably. "Ah will stop if y' ask. Say no. Call Logan, kick mah ass. Tell m' y' don't want dis."

Rogue didn't answer. The only answer he received came when she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and snaked her left arm around to entangle her fingers in his hair as her right hand rested gently on the arm around her waist. Remy needed no further invitation.

Without warning, Remy made a thrust all the way inside her. Rogue let out a startled cry and clutched his hair firmly. Rogue heard a groan come out of Remy's throat at the feeling of her surrounding him. When Remy pulled almost entirely out and then pushed back into her, Rogue whimpered at the feeling of her tight walls fluttering around his invading member.

Remy was gentle with her at first; then his hand snaked down to the juncture between her legs and his index and middle finger began to furiously rub her clit in firm, quick circles. Rogue's breath went from heavy continuous breaths to short pants as his callused fingers went to work on her. She did not think it was possible before for her to get any more wet than she already was; Remy happily acknowledged that when he moaned deeply as he slid in and out of her with greater ease.

Remy's movements within her became a little harder as he felt Rogue begin to meet him thrust for thrust. Rogue shut her eyes as she let out a moan that was akin to crying when she felt him somehow go deeper inside of her, continuously hitting that special place inside of her that made her see stars behind her eyes.

Roughly Remy tugged on the bottom hem of her shirt and pushed it up over breasts. He wasted no time in pulling the cups of her bra down so that her ample breasts were freed from their confines. Rogue bit her lip as she felt Remy's callused hand roughly mold her breast. He squeezed one almost to the point of pain and then did the same to the other. His thumb circled her large nipple, making it stick out to a little point, and then he pinched it between his thumb and forefinger.

With her breast in one hand and his other hand pleasuring her clit, Remy lowered his mouth to her neck and began to kiss and bite the length of it with a passion. Rogue tilted her head to the side, exposing more of her neck to him and he took full advantage of her offer. Rogue followed his arm with her hand down to her center where she made her best attempt to keep him there and make him not stop doing what he was doing. Remy sensed her urgency and trailed kisses and licks and nips up her neck until he found her earlobe where he proceeded to give that some attention.

Rogue couldn't take this any more; she needed to come and she needed to come soon. "Remy, please…" She gasped. Remy, almost there himself, quickened his thrusts and increased the pressure of his finger on her clit. Rogue finally let out a series of moans that were almost reminiscent of weeping and she tossed her head back onto his shoulder. She screamed when her orgasm finally hit her and gripped his hair and his hand tighter against her. The feeling of her tight heat convulsing around him was too much for Remy; after a few more deep thrusts into her, he finally lost himself inside of Rogue and she felt him gush and twitch inside of her.

Remy, panting and perspiring in the afterglow, rested his forehead against her shoulder. He removed his hand from her suddenly sensitive clit and his other hand from her breast and just wrapped both arms around her waist again. He withdrew from her and waited to catch his breath before he spoke again. "It wasn't supposed t' be like dis." He said softly, sounding almost remorseful. "It was supposed t' last all night, and be on a bed, and we were supposed t' make love, not fuck." Remy tenderly caressed the soft flesh of her stomach, which made her shudder briefly. "Ah'm sorry."

Rogue contemplated what he had said for a moment, while she gingerly caressed his slightly damp strands of hair. Her head still resting on his shoulder, she gently craned her neck so that she could look at his face. She pulled her hand out of his hair and then caressed it over the skin of his cheek. Resting her hand just above his jaw, she turned his face to look at her. His face looked surprised to see her gently smiling at him. She ran her fingers over his stubble before she said, "Ah'm not." Her face turned serious when they both simultaneously tilted their heads and leaned closer to each other, with their eyes determinedly set on the other's mouth…

"AAAHHH!" Rogue screamed suddenly as she quickly rose up from her sleep into a sitting position. Deep breath in, deep breath out. That had been her most intense dream yet; never before had one seemed so real. It was just a dream… wasn't it? She thought. Her head darted around trying to get a bearing on her surroundings. She was still in her tent, the trip wasn't over, and Remy hadn't…

"Rogue?" Kitty mumbled, sounding a little frustrated. She rolled over in her sleeping bag and switched on the lantern that was situated between the two sleeping bags. It was then that she realized that she and Rogue were the only two people in the tent. "Where'd-" Kitty was about to ask for the whereabouts of her favorite blue elf when she saw Rogue sitting up in her sleeping bag. Oh no, Kitty thought miserably. It was just a dream. I knew it was too good to be true… it was the best dream I've ever had. Kitty looked at her roommate with some amount of annoyance in her eyes. Rogue had woken her up just before the dream got even better, and as a result, Kitty was feeling slightly frustrated at the moment.

"Kitty…" Rogue said, as more of a statement. She was still in a slight daze from her dream. I can't believe I actually let him rape me, she thought before she realized something. No, it wasn't rape. It was semi-consensual, sure, but he didn't force me to do anything. Rogue then shifted her legs slightly and noticed the incredible amount of moisture that had collected between her legs. And I liked it. A lot.

"What's the matter Rogue? Did you have another nightmare?" Kitty asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Uh…" Rogue was getting a little tired of this nightmare excuse, since these dreams were definitely not of the nightmare variety. Though the idea of someone rubbing in her face the fact that she was having sexy thoughts about their resident Cajun was scary enough to make her love the fact that people bought she was having nightmares. "Yeah."

"Well that's great. You woke me up from the best dream ever, you know that? I think maybe it's time that you talked to the Professor about them, because you're having them like every night."

"Kitty, mah mind is a mystery: a very jumbled, chaotic mystery that Ah can't even begin to understand. Ah don't need one more person trying to get into mah brain." Rogue said, readjusting her sleeping bag.

"But if you work with the Professor… who knows? One day, you might be able to control your powers. And I know at least one person, besides you, that would be very happy about that."

Rogue didn't say anything; she turned her back to Kitty and laid her head back down. "Sorry Ah woke you. Goodnight Kitty."

Kitty sighed, but laid down on her back herself before reaching over to the lamp and switching it off. "Goodnight Rogue."

They both laid there in the darkness for a few minutes, neither of them asleep yet. Kitty sighed and spoke into the darkness at Rogue. "Hey Rogue?"

"Yeah?" Rogue mumbled back.

"Are you asleep yet?"

Rogue sighed in her throat in annoyance at the question. "Would Ah be talkin' to you if Ah was?"

"Right." Kitty then reached over and turned on the lantern again. "Do you want to come pee with me?"

Rogue rolled over to look at her eternally perky roommate. "You want meh to what?"

"I need to pee and the Professor said that we can't leave the tent after dark without a buddy and I really, really need to go so please?" Kitty said, in her typical Kitty speed.

Rogue stared at her often bizarre friend before letting out an incredulous sigh. "Congratulations Kitty. You are the first friend Ah've ever had who's asked meh to come pee with them."

"So does that mean you're coming?" Kitty asked, slipping out of her sleeping bag.

"Yeah, Ah mean, Ah just can't turn that down." Rogue said, reaching for her Doc Martin ankle boots.

Kitty slipped on her flip flops and began to unzip their tent. She stepped outside their tent briefly before shrieking softly, and then immediately re-entering the tent. "It's freezing out there!" She squealed.

"Well, what did you expect? That's mountain weather; warm during the day, but cold in the mornings and evenings." Rogue said, pulling on her black Invader Zim hoodie.

"I don't know, I mean it's the middle of June!" Kitty exclaimed, pulling on her light blue hoodie with a 70's influenced multi-colored star in the middle of it.

"That makes no difference." Rogue replied, crawling over to the tent entrance and stepping outside. "You coming or not?"

Kitty crawled forward and stood with Rogue. Together, they re-zipped their tent and walked towards the… "facilities."

The entire campsite was quiet. Where the fire had been was now just a pile of ashen firewood. The teachers' tent stood proud at the opposite end of the campsite and was the largest one there. And it was dark. The only form of light that allowed the girls to navigate their way to the designated edge of the forest was the clouded light of the moon and the stars. No one was awake besides Rogue and Kitty… save one person that no one knew about.

"What have we here? A midnight rendezvous maybe?" Matilda said, examining the two girls from the safe distance of her tree perch. She was dressed in all black spy gear, complete with night vision goggles. "That Professor guy fell asleep an hour ago (Matilda knew, as she had checked on his tent prior to her observation of the girls' tent) so he's not a problem right now. Time to eavesdrop." Matilda vanished from her tree branch only to appear on the ground not far from where Rogue and Kitty had gone, this time dressed in her signature white dress.

Imagine Matilda's surprise to see both girls squatting in the bushes. "Oh. It was just a potty break." She looked behind her preparing to leave. "I probably should give them some privacy-"

"So like what was your nightmare about tonight Rogue?" Kitty asked casually.

Matilda shut her mouth and turned back to the girls with a renewed interest in her eyes. "Rogue had another 'nightmare' tonight? This I have to hear."

Kitty noticed Rogue's visible discomfort about discussing said nightmare. "Um… it was nothing. Ah… dreamt Ah walked into breakfast naked."

"Oh." Kitty said. She sounded as though she accepted that response at first and was prepared to drop the subject before a thought occurred to her. "Have all of your nightmares been like that?" Rogue looked at Kitty oddly; did she look frightened? "I mean, you've been having them for awhile and they always sounded pretty intense. Knowing what you've been through, I can only imagine the kind of nightmares those experiences would produce. I always thought that you were having a heart attack the way that you were screaming and thrashing and-"

"Ah lied okay!" Rogue interrupted suddenly.

"What?"

"Ah lied. Ah haven't been having any nightmares." Rogue turned her head away, suddenly very fascinated with a bush.

"Ooo-kay…." Kitty wondered for a second. "Why would you lie about something like that?"

"Because the truth is embarrassing." Rogue answered frankly.

"Rogue…" Kitty said in such a firm voice that it made Rogue look at her serious expression. "Yesterday, I came in front of my best friend, and as if that wasn't bad enough, I pulled him on top of me and got off on him and he actually saw my bra. Then I had to witness said best friend also have an orgasm, got him naked, put on a condom on him, and he had me grip his penis so he could get off on me too. What makes that worse is that the one person who likes Kurt that I cannot stand walked in on me straddling him, probably told the whole mansion that I was raping him, and I had to talk to the people that I consider to be my parents about it. The day before that, everyone was convinced that I was a stripper, and everyone at the dinner table found out that I can belly dance." Kitty paused with her eyes still locked with Rogue's. "I think I know a little bit about being embarrassed." Rogue snorted a little bit at the recap of the past few days' events. "So what is the truth?" Rogue stared at the ground, not meeting Kitty's eyes. "Wait a second… you started having these dreams when…" Rogue shot her head up to look at Kitty who had a huge enlightened smile on her face. "Oh my God! When Remy joined the team! You've been having dreams about Remy, haven't you!" She squealed.

Rogue hastily shushed Kitty. "Shhh!" Her eyes quickly darted around the general area nervously. "Why not say it a little louder, Ah'm not sure everyone in the tri-state area heard you!" Rogue whispered harshly.

"Sorry." Kitty said through a giggle. "Does that mean that I'm right?"

Rogue ducked her head to hide the blush spreading across her face. Kitty giggled maniacally, which caused Rogue to glare at her. "Oh, leave meh alone."

"How could I forget that girls tell each other everything when they go to the bathroom?" Matilda asked herself, as she watched the girls straighten themselves up. Rogue sat on a log close by and Kitty stood in front of her with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "Go figure."

"Oh I am so right. What kind of dreams are they?" Kitty asked, with her characteristic girliness. "What do you do in them?" Kitty then gasped when a new thought occurred to her. "Are they… sexy dreams?" She asked with a shy smile.

"None of your damn business!" Rogue cried indignantly. She did not want to have this conversation right then…

"Rogue, you know that Kitty is going to keep bugging you and bugging you until you give in." Matilda said, coming to stand beside Rogue (of course, considering Matilda's stature and the fact that Rogue was still in a sitting position, they were both about level). "Besides, she might let it slip that you have been dreaming about Remy to Jubilee or Tabitha and they will blow the whole thing out of proportion and can only speculate what kind of perverted things you were doing with Remy in dreamland. Or worse… Remy might catch wind of it. However, if you tell Kitty the truth, she will realize the direness of keeping her mouth shut…"

"Tell meeee!" Kitty squealed.

"All right! We do… stuff." Rogue added "stuff" quietly.

"Oooh, what kind of stuff?" Kitty asked eagerly, sitting down on a rock close by.

"…" Rogue looked towards nothing as she spoke. "… Sexy stuff."

"Oh come on! Tell me more than that!" Kitty said, practically bouncing on her log.

"You want to know more than that?" Rogue asked, skeptically.

"Yes! Details, damn it! What sorts of things does he do to you? Is he a good kisser? Does it turn you on? All that!"

Rogue sighed; this would not be fun. "Kitty, he fucks meh in mah dreams. What more detail do you need?"

"Could you use a different word please?" Kitty asked, a little frustrated.

"Well, what word do you want meh to use? You asked what we do, and that's what we do. We fuck." Rogue replied, almost too frankly.

"I just hate that word, okay? It sounds like what you two do together is so… nasty."

"Well, there is a reason why another term for sex is 'doin' the nasty'."

"Yeah, but… I can't picture you two doing something so meaningless."

"Okay…" Rogue contemplated her friend's words (she decided to ignore the urge to ask why Kitty was imagining her having sex with Remy for now) before continuing. "You've officially lost meh. What do you mean?"

"I mean… I can't picture you two just…" Kitty lowered voice to barely a whisper as she said, "fucking." Rogue was about to laugh at Kitty's very middle school behavior, but then Kitty finished her thought that left Rogue speechless. "I mean, I can see you two making love to each other, but not just having meaningless sex."

Rogue was silent. Dream Remy had said something about there being a difference between love making and fucking just that night. "Aren't they the same thing?"

"I don't think so. I think when you just have sex it's just to satisfy an animalistic urge that you have towards another person. But when you make love with someone… I think that's when you want someone to feel how much you love them and your own urges aren't really that important anymore. Sex goes from mating to like the ultimate expression of love." Kitty looked up at the tapestry of trees with something like hope in her eyes.

Both Matilda and Rogue looked at Kitty with surprised eyes. They were both thinking something similar. "You know, you have a pretty good idea about sex for a virgin." Rogue said, after a while.

"I listen to the other girls talk about their sex lives. Part of it, I admit is wishful thinking."

"So how do you think making love is supposed to go?" Rogue asked curiously.

"I don't know…" Kitty said, blushing. "Lots of foreplay, probably. Taking things slow, especially if it's the girl's first time. Looking in your lover's eyes and just feel the love radiating off of them." Kitty looked almost dreamy when she said this.

"Hmm." Matilda raised her eyebrows in enlightened surprise. "She does have a good idea of what love making is supposed to be like."

"And kissing definitely is a must. Lots of it." Kitty finished.

Rogue looked at Kitty surprised as she realized something. When she woke up from her dream, it was right before she and Remy could…

"Kitty… Ah think Ah have a problem." Rogue said, looking dazedly distressed.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, sounding concerned.

Rogue bowed her head as her face began to redden and she spoke. "You've probably figured out that Remy and Ah have done a lot of things in mah dreams for awhile now… but what you said just now made meh realize one thing we haven't done in mah dreams."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

"We haven't kissed." Kitty looked at Rogue surprised. "Ah know, it's the strangest thing. Ah mean, in mah dreams we've done it in the backseat of a station wagon, we've done it in Scott's car, we've done it on an African safari, we did it in almost every room in the mansion, and several other places where you wouldn't think it's possible to do it but we've done it. We've done it in almost every position even the most dirty minded person could imagine. And Ah can't believe the things Ah've let him do to meh… in mah dreams. For starters, tonight Ah had a dream where he…" Rogue hesitated, not wanting Kitty to think that she was weirder anymore than she already thought she was. "Kind of forced meh. (Kitty raised her eyebrows at that but didn't say anything) And last week, Ah had a dream where he… had sex with meh in an area that's kind of uncomfortable."

"Huh?" Kitty said, looking genuinely confused.

"You know… the only hole a girl has that requires additional lubricant?" Rogue said, gently.

"Oh." Kitty thought about a second longer. "Oh. Oh! Eww! You're into that?"

"Ah was in mah dream." She replied simply. "Plus, Ah have to spend the rest of mah life not knowin' what touch is. At this point, Ah'm open to anything."

"You've done all of that in your dreams." Rogue nodded her head. "Except kissing."

"Ah don't know why. It's weird that it just now occurred to meh." Rogue smirked to herself. "Ah won't let him kiss meh in mah dreams and Ah won't let him kiss meh in real life. Freaky how that worked out, isn't it?"

"Kissed you in real life? Remy's tried to kiss you?" Kitty asked curiously. Rogue looked at the girl surprised.

"Oh mah God. Ah guess with what's been goin' on with you and mah brother and the rest of the craziness, Ah forgot to mention it."

"You forgot to mention that the man of your dreams has tried to kiss you!" Kitty exclaimed.

"Kitty, let's not spread the 'man of mah dreams' bit around, okay?" Kitty nodded fervently, but still looked anxious for what Rogue had to say. "He's actually tried to kiss meh more than once."

"What! You jerk! How could you not tell me!"

"Kitty, Ah haven't let him kiss meh. He's tried (more than once), but Ah won't let him."

"Why won't you let him? I bet he's an awesome kisser!"

Rogue looked at Kitty with her patented "are you an idiot" glare. "Kitty, there's one very important factor in this equation." Kitty cocked her head confusedly. "Mah powers Kitty. Remember them? They're the things that keep meh from coming into physical contact for the rest of mah life? Slight hindrance in the kissing department."

"Oh yeah. But wait… doesn't Remy know about your powers too?"

Rogue didn't answer for a second. "Yeah." She said meekly.

"But he still tried to kiss you?"

"Yeah."

"More than once?"

"Yeah."

"Even though it could knock him unconscious, put him in a coma, or even kill him?"

"Yeah! Kitty, he's tried to kiss meh even though he knew about all of that." Rogue said, sounding somewhat beyond frustrated.

"Wow." Kitty looked at the floor for a second. "He must like you much more than I thought."

"Wait, he said that he likes meh?" Rogue asked, with a renewed interest.

"Not out loud, but you can like totally tell." Kitty smiled at Rogue, but her eyes looked somewhat sad. "You are so lucky, you know? I mean, you've got a totally hot guy who's willing to get killed just to get one kiss from you! sigh. I wish I had your problems." And boobs your size, Kitty thought enviously.

"Oh yeah, living with the knowledge that I could kill said hot guy with just one kiss is so enviable." Rogue added, rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on, Rogue? Can't you be a little happy about it?"

"Kitty, each time he tries to kiss meh just reminds meh about how alone Ah really am. This is the one time Ah wish he wasn't so damn persistent." Rogue grumbled.

"Persistent?" Kitty furrowed her eyebrows. "Rogue, exactly how many times has he tried to kiss you?"

"Hmm." Rogue thought about it. "Well, once while we were watchin' a movie, once in the kitchen, four times in his bedroom, and once again tonight. So that would make it…" Rogue did the math on her fingers quickly. "Seven times that he's tried to kiss meh in the past three days."

Kitty's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "He's tried to kiss you seven times, and you haven't done anything about it?"

"What's there to do about it, Kitty? Ah mean really…"

"I don't know. It's just…" Kitty trailed off. "That's seven times he's risked his life just to kiss you. Not many guys will do that."

"Ah wish Ah understood his logic behind it all. Ah mean, why meh? There are several other girls in the mansion, most of which would be only too happy to be his love puppets. Why's he wastin' his time on meh?"

"Rogue…" Now it was Kitty's turn to look at Rogue like she's an idiot. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he's pursuing you because he likes you?"

"Kitty, Remy's a player. Guys like that only like women for one thing."

"And it's that one thing that you can't give him." Kitty said, bluntly. "He knows that, and yet he keeps trying to be with you."

Rogue shook her head dismissively. "Maybe it's a challenge for him or something; to see how far he can lead meh along."

"Right. Like he's stupid enough to do that to the one girl in the world who could put him in a coma with just a touch if she's pushed far enough."

Rogue shook her head again, this time it didn't seem as steady. "Or maybe-"

"Or maybe he thinks you're pretty. Or maybe he likes your personality. You're the only one who doesn't fall for his crap, maybe he adores that. Or maybe he sees someone who's been through a lot, and is tired of seeing her alone all the time. Maybe he likes you Rogue and wants to be more than friends with you. Did you ever think of any of that?"

Rogue shook her head again. "Kitty, he has to have some sort of ulterior motive. He's a thief, born and bred, remember? Plus, Ah have been inside his head. Ah know how he operates." Rogue said, tapping her own temple.

"Hmm." Kitty looked off into space as though she was thinking something.

"What?" Rogue asked, almost reluctantly.

"Well, I just think it's interesting about how persistent he's being and yet no matter how many times he's been turned down, he still keeps trying to kiss you." Rogue nodded, slightly curious as to where this was going. "And you said it yourself that he always has an ulterior motive, right?"

"Kitty, where are you goin' with this?"

"What if the reason he's trying to kiss you is to show you something?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, what if there's something inside of his head that he wants you to know but he can't find the right words to express it?"

"Okay, now you're really reachin'." Rogue said, dismissively.

"Maybe. Wait! You know what's going on inside his head. Because you gave him a kiss yesterday. I was there when you told everyone, remember?"

"It was a little peck, Kitty; Ah would hardly qualify that as a kiss."

"Still, you got a glimpse of Remy's brain while your lips were touching a part of him. How many girls can claim that?" Rogue shrugged, acting like she didn't care. "So… what did you get from him when you kissed him?"

Rogue looked distant. Matilda snuck up from behind her and pushed her fingers into Rogue's mind. She immediately pulled them out and smiled. "Whoo boy…"

"Ah didn't get much… except…" Rogue trailed off; saying this would mean that she was admitting defeat in this debate.

"Yes?" Kitty said, leaning forward slightly.

"He wasn't thinkin' about sex or what we could be doin'. He was just… loving the way mah lips felt." Rogue looked at her feet; she didn't need to see Kitty's face to know that she was beaming.

"Oh my God." Kitty said, in a soft squeal. "That is like so totally sweet!"

"It doesn't matter Kitty. It doesn't matter what he wants or what Ah want. It doesn't change anything." Rogue said, in the signature Rogue glumness.

"But if you're both willing to try-"

"Kitty, it doesn't matter! Even if Ah wanted to try, nothing could ever come of it. Eventually, he would realize that mah powers ain't goin' anywhere and he will want a girl who could make love with him. He'll realize that Ah really was a waste of his time. And Ah don't think Ah can handle bein' hurt anymore. Ah'm messed up enough already." Rogue turned her head up to look at her friend. She had been expecting Kitty to look sad or feel foolish for what she had said, so she was surprised by seeing Kitty looking at her skeptically. "What? Why are you givin' meh that look?"

"No reason." Kitty looked away, but her eyes turned to look at Rogue.

"Kitty?"

"It's just…"

"What is it?" Rogue said, fed up.

"Aren't those excuses getting old?"

"What?" Rogue asked, somewhat shocked that Kitty could be so bold.

"That list of excuses you just made. Everyone knows that's what you say when you use your powers as a reason for avoiding human interaction."

"Well of course they're a reason for avoiding human interaction! Ah could kill someone if Ah'm not careful."

"You see, you're doing it again." Kitty replied, with honesty in her eyes. "You always use your powers as an excuse to isolate yourself. 'Hey Rogue, you want to go swimming?' 'No, mah powers would get someone hurt' or 'Hey Rogue, you want to go to the mall?' 'No, Ah could come into contact with someone in a large crowd' or 'Hey Rogue, you want-"

"Okay, Ah get the general idea! But it's true Kitty!"

"Yeah, it's true but you're wearing like four layers of clothing when you go out so a person would literally have to rip your shirt off in order to come into contact with your skin."

"It's happened before, hasn't it? When Ah lost control, do you remember that?"

"Yeah, I do. And Jean lost control in front of the entire school and nearly got us all killed. And Evan lost control and went to live in the sewers. There's always a risk that we could lose control and people could get hurt or we could hurt ourselves Rogue. You're in the same boat everyone here is in. So sue me if I think that you deserve the same chances that we all get."

"Yes! Thank you Kitty! You go girl!" Matilda exclaimed, spinning in a happy circle.

"But… it's not the same. Mah power is in mah skin. Just mah touch could hurt someone…" Rogue trailed off, her resolve clearly wavering.

"So could Amara's. So could Jubilee's. So could Remy's! If Scott ever took off his visor, he could kill someone just by looking at them. Rogue… we're all here to learn control. And like Kurt says almost every day, you have to have faith. And I have faith in you that you will learn control too." Rogue's sigh was her only response; Kitty knew she had won. "I think Remy has faith in you too. And that's why he keeps coming back to you Rogue. He sees that strength inside of you. And I think you should totally give him a chance."

Rogue looked sadly at Kitty. "Kitty, let's get one thing straight: if Ah did somehow gain control, it's not going to be where Ah wake up one day and have control over mah powers. If Ah did try the relationship thing with him, it would probably be a long time before Ah got control, or if Ah ever did. Would he be willin' to wait that long?"

"I think you should let him answer that question."

Rogue cast her eyes downward. "Every night, Ah dream about him. And we do so many wonderful things together. But then Ah wake up and nothing's changed. And each time he tries to kiss meh… it's not easy pullin' away, you know. Ah want him too so badly. But Ah want him not to be hurt even more. Ah want to keep him out of mah head and out here in front meh, where he belongs. And if that means dyin' a virgin, Ah guess that's mah fate."

"Feh. What do these girls know about fate?" Matilda asked herself. "But Rogue's right. As long as her powers are around, they will continue to be a roadblock in my overall plans. I'll have to come to a solution eventually."

"You have no idea how wonderful touch really is, Kitty. If you've got the ability to, you should be touchin' whenever you get the chance. Which makes meh wonder…?" Rogue said, this time looking deep in thought herself.

"Wonder what?" Kitty asked, pondering how the subject got switched around to her.

"It makes meh wonder why you're still a virgin, Kit."

"Oh." It was Kitty's turn to blush.

"Because if it was meh, Ah would've handed Remy mah cherry on top of a sundae a long time ago." Kitty looked at Rogue with wide eyes.

"Can I quote you on that?"

"Ah mean, you were doin' the on-again, off-again dance with 'I'm gonna rock your world' boy for the longest time before you both officially called it quits. All of us figured at some point ya'll got down to it. But you didn't."

"Okay, I thought no one here liked Lance. Are you saying that you wanted me to throw myself at him?"

"Of course not. Ah'm glad you didn't give into his advances so easily. But then Piotr and you were crushing on each other for awhile and he's a big improvement."

"Yeah, but that faded off into the sunset and you know why."

"Well duh. But there's still mah brother…"

"What do you mean? Kurt and I are just-"

"Kitty, so help meh God, if the next words that come out of your are 'just friends', Ah'm going to strangle you."

"But it's the truth…" Kitty said, somewhat weakly.

"Puh-lease." Rogue drawled. "Everyone was there. Everyone saw it. Everyone heard what you said to him. And everyone saw the way you looked at each other. And everyone knows that you two are definitely not just friends."

"Rogue, that was a really crazy night."

"Yeah, it was. But it did reveal a lot about how you both feel about each other. Haven't ya'll talked about it since then?"

"No… that night really changed Kurt, and I'm… giving him time to get okay with the truth about his… father."

"Well that's very noble of you. But it's been almost a month, hasn't it?"

"You don't adjust to that kind of knowledge in a month, Rogue."

"No, you're right. You don't. But it becomes easier to heal if you've got someone there helping you."

"He has the whole mansion helping him."

"But he wants you to help him."

"I have been, as a friend. Right now… I don't think either of us can handle anything more."

"But… you do want something more with him… don't you." Rogue said, as more of a statement than a question.

"… I have for a while." Kitty admitted.

"How long have you known that?"

"I think a little before that… 'night of hell'. It was like, waking up one day realizing that you've spent years looking for your knight in shining armor… only to figure out that he's been right in front of you this whole time."

"You know… if you tried to start something with him now, he wouldn't say no."

"Yes, he would. If I told him how I really felt about him, he would laugh at me and say something like it would be like dating his sister and things would be totally weird between us from then on."

"Kitty, are you insane? There is no way he thinks of you as his sister." Kitty looked confused. "Kitty, that boy has been crazy about you since the day he first saw you."

"And he thinks he's hiding it." Matilda put in her two cents.

"Maybe when he first met me. But he's moved on to… to better things since then. I mean, he's been with Tabby and then he was with… Amanda." Kitty said Amanda's name so sadly. "Perfect Amanda. She was so pretty, and so nice, and she wasn't scared of Kurt when she saw his real form." Kitty looked sadly at the sky peaking through the trees. "There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I haven't felt bad for treating him that way. He must hate me so much for it."

"He doesn't hate you Kitty. Not at all. Ah think he's used to that reaction by now. He and Amanda were good together, Ah can't deny that. But there is a reason they broke up after all."

"I don't even know why they broke up, and he tells me everything, except that. Whenever I ask him about it, he just says that it was a mutual thing."

"Well there you go. They both felt it was obviously for the best that they broke up. Therefore, he's up for grabs kid."

"Yeah, but… I'm sure there are like a ton of girls that he would go out with before me. Not even Tabby was scared of him. But I was. I screwed up my chances."

"Ah wouldn't be too sure. If you recall, Beauty was scared of the Beast when she first met him. But she did fall in love with him despite of his appearance."

"But that's the thing… I don't think Kurt's ugly."

"Of course he's not. Before Ah knew he was actually mah brother, Ah thought he was a stud."

"I know, he is! His face is so beautiful, and everything else about him just makes him so… him! You know, I've actually looked at a decent looking guy and thought 'he's cute… but he's not blue!'"

Both Matilda and Rogue laughed at that. "You got it bad, girl." They both chorused. Rogue looked at her seriously. "Then why were you scared of him in the first place? Is Kurt an acquired taste?"

Kitty looked serious as she stared at her hands. "Hmm." Matilda looked at Kitty's sad expression. "This cannot be good. I better… why do I smell sulfur and brimstone-" Matilda jerked her head upwards. "Oh no. Why didn't I notice that sooner? How long has he been there?" Matilda vanished to investigate.

"Kurt's not an acquired taste. It wasn't really his looks that scared me… but it was something about him that terrifies me even now…"

Kurt shifted uncomfortably in his sleeping bag. He could feel the sweat start to culminate beneath his fur. Mein Gott... mein Pelz wird bald, aufzuhäufen beginnen, he thought. He tried kicking his legs out, but that only made the collecting heat inside of his sleeping bag encompass more of his legs. Finally fed up with the uncomfortable, overheated pocket of fabric and fluff, Kurt pulled his body out of the bag entirely and laid himself atop the sleeping bag.

He smiled triumphantly for a few moments, with one hand resting on his stomach and the other pillowing his head. He had his eyes closed as he attempted sleep, but then he felt Jamie shift in his own sleeping bag beside him. Kurt opened one eye and gently turned his head to glance at his soundly sleeping tent buddy. Jamie was sound asleep on his side with one arm draped over his side and the other slung outwards towards Kurt. He sported Power Rangers pajamas and his hair was already mussed from sleeping. The ten year old seemed still, save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest with his breathing.

Kurt smiled and again tried to resume sleeping. That's when he felt a somewhat padded kick to his thigh. Kurt opened both eyes, furrowed his brows, and glanced over at Jamie again. He was in more of a fetal position this time with his sleeping bag covered feet pointing directly at Kurt's legs. He was surprised by how innocent the little boy looked.

Kurt sighed in his throat, resignedly deciding to make the best of this situation no matter what. Jamie just had to ruin that by next rolling his body fully into Kurt's side, however it was not the contact that caused Kurt to become so uncomfortable. It was the fact that the slight impact caused about five more Jamies to accompany them in the tent. These tents were manufactured to only hold two people at most, and the addition of five more small ten year old boys made Kurt feel very uncomfortable and it also made breathing slightly more difficult.

Kurt grunted and tried to get one of the Jamie clones of his chest, but realized that it was in vain as the Jamie flopped backwards to make himself more comfortable… right on top of Kurt's chest which momentarily knocked the wind out of him. Kurt strained his neck to look over at the real Jamie, who slept in a blissful ignorance of Kurt's predicament. "Jamie...?" Kurt managed to wheeze out, but Jamie managed to sleep on.

Kurt flopped his head back and just stared at the roof of the tent for a few moments. "Nein, Jamie it is all right that no one vould share a tent vith you. You can room vith me, I don't mind." Kurt said to himself, disgustedly. He again tried to push the Jamie that was on top of him off of him, but with his arms placed uncomfortably at such an awkward angle it was proving difficult. He felt another Jamie sleeping comfortably right on top of his tail, which was not so comfortable for Kurt. Okay… maybe I can sleep like this… he thought. Again, Kurt shut his eyes and tried his best to relax. Then all five Jamies began a chorus of snoring. That was the last straw. "There is not enough room in this tent for all of us." Kurt gazed longingly at the entrance of the tent. "I vill find a tree to sleep in." Kurt said rather meekly, before porting out of the tent, letting the Jamie that was on his chest fall to the floor. That Jamie looked up briefly, confused, before returning to his slumber.

Kurt had remembered seeing a nice tall tree around the edge of the forest earlier in the day. He visualized it and that's where he ended up. "Aaaahh." He said, as he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back on the limb. He shut his eyes with a small smile on his face and softly closed his eyes to once again try his hand at sleep.

"Then why were you scared of him in the first place? Is Kurt…" Kurt's eyes shot open at the sound of his name. He didn't hear the rest of the sentence as he began to climb over the branch to get a good look at the ground.

"Kurt's…scared me… but it was something about him that terrifies me even now…" Kurt froze; that voice was saying he frightened someone… but who?

He gripped the branch tightly with both his hands and his tail as he leaned over the side. He saw the top of a white streaked head and a brown ponytail that bobbed as she spoke. Mein schwester and… Kitty… He thought with a mental sigh. Are they talking about me?

"Kurt still scares you? That surprises meh." Rogue said, with an eyebrow raised.

"It surprises me too. But each time… it gets me." Kitty shivered slightly, just thinking about it.

"Well… how does he scare you?"

Kitty paused and looked thoughtful. It was hard for her to vocalize these particular thoughts, and the fact that Kurt was not far away only made it harder for her. Just knowing that he was close by made her feel like there was a butterfly orgy happening in her stomach. As a matter of fact, it felt like he was close by right then… Kitty shook off the feeling and continued. "I think… I think it's his eyes." Rogue looked at Kitty with surprise. "Whenever he looks at me… I feel a little sick, kind of dizzy I think."

My eyes… Kurt stole a thick finger up to touch the skin under his eye. My eyes scare her and make her feel sick… Kurt could a feel a sick feeling welling up in his own stomach.

"Well, Ah would think that it would be his fangs that scared you. Or the fact that his body is covered in blue fur… or his little pointy ears… or his weird shaped hands and feet… or his tail, but it's his eyes that bother you the most about him?"

"Yeah, you know that was the first thing I noticed about him the day we met? I looked straight in his eyes when we met and then I saw the rest of him. It was always his eyes that scared me. I think they're the most unusual eyes I've ever seen. They're that really wild looking shade of yellow and gold… and… it happened the day we met. That was the first time in my life that I can ever remember hoping that… I could die right then. All just by looking in his eyes."

Can you hear that? To any innocent bystander it would have sounded just like the silence that stood between Rogue and Kitty as the words floated in the air. But if you listened harder, you could hear the sound of Kurt's heart shattering into a million pieces.

Kurt could feel the tears stinging the corners of his eyes (speaking of) and actually contemplated gouging them out and spending the rest of his life as a blind man. Just so the girl he wanted more than anything else in the world would not be afraid of him. He had thought that she accepted him for the monster he always knew he was, but now… now he knew how she really felt.

She fears my eyes… He thought sadly. So I will never look in her eyes ever again.

"Kurt…" Matilda said urgently behind him. "She didn't mean it… you know she didn't mean it like that!" She was behind him and he was in a sitting position on his branch. His tail was flicking about wildly as his hands squeezed the branch to almost a breaking point. His mouth was shut tightly and he was taking deep breaths in and out as he fought back his tears. "Kurt please… she cares about you… just hear her out!" Kurt clenched his eyes shut and shook his head furiously (Matilda noticed one or two streams of tears that managed to leak out of the corners of his eyes). Kurt suddenly vanished with a bamf; Matilda jumped from her position in a vain attempt to grab his tail and wound up on her stomach with both her arms and legs wrapped around the branch.

"Ooof!" She declared. She pulled her head up and looked around for the furry blue elf, who was no where in sight. "Great. This is not good… this is going to take a little more finesse to try and right this wrong." Matilda sat up and scowled looking slightly confused. "I don't get it? I know that girl is absolutely crazy about Kurt! Why would she say something like that…"

"Why do his eyes scare you Kitty?" Rogue asked, after a few moments.

Kitty sighed, and looked straight into Rogue's eyes. After a moment, she smiled. "Have you ever noticed that Kurt's eyes are the same color as halos?"

"What?"

"You know, the halos that angels wear? Kurt's eyes are that exact same shade of gold-yellow. I think that they are so beautiful."

Rogue formed an 'o' with her lips before she could formulate a response. "Okay… why would that scare you and make you wish you would die?"

Kitty shook her head with a small smile on her face. "It took me forever to figure out what exactly it was about Kurt's eyes that made me so uncomfortable. And then I realized one day that that was it."

"So… Kurt's eyes remind you of angels… and you're terrified of that?"

"Well yeah. I mean, you can't hide anything in the presence of angels, you know? Just like… like I can't hide anything from Kurt."

"Oh, Ah get it now."

"Yeah. Every time he looks at me… I know that he's looking right through me. Like he can see beyond all the bullshit that I put up around myself and sees… just me. And when I first met him… that freaked me out more than anything else and made me wish he would leave me alone so I wouldn't have to learn to be myself."

"He can see behind the mask that you have to put on for the world."

"Yeah totally. All he has to do is look at me, and he knows everything I'm feeling. He's the only one in the mansion who knows the difference from when I'm acting happy, when I'm actually feeling down. He knows when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I'm pissed off about something… he just knows. And he always makes me feel like… it's okay. I don't have to put on an act around him… and it's the best feeling in the world. I used to hate that feeling… but now… I look forward to it each day."

Kitty had the most beautiful smile on her face by the time she finished talking. Matilda sighed sadly as she looked at Kitty with an expression reminiscent of a beaten puppy dog. "That is the smile that only appears when you're in love." She audibly growled in her throat. "He couldn't have stuck around to hear that part!"

"But it's still a scary feeling, isn't it? Knowing that there's a guy who can see right through you?"

"Yeah. It's partially why… I've been hesitant to try and get involved with Kurt."

"You're not sure you can handle not hiding anything from someone all the time?"

"Not exactly… just… I don't know." Kitty replied truthfully. "You know what's ironic?"

"What?"

"His eyes look like an angel's, but the rest of him looks like a demon (a very cute, blue, furry demon). I think that sums him up to a tee. An angel trapped in a demon's body."

"You know, they do say that the eyes are the windows to the soul." Rogue smirked amusedly. "So does that mean Remy's a demon trapped in an angel's body?"

"I think it's more like he's got a devilish personality but a good heart."

"Well yeah." Rogue smiled mysteriously. "Ah think Ah have a thing for his eyes too."

"Yeah, they are pretty cool looking."

"Cool looking? Kitty, they're gorgeous! They're like little rubies sitting on onyx. Ah think his eyes are the hottest thing about him."

"Hotter than his incredibly handsome face, perfect body, and excessively large…" Kitty trailed off knowingly.

"Well, those are all nice too. But his eyes just… they make meh feel weak. They have ever since we first met."

"Oh my God! You know, I just thought of something!"

"What?"

"Your eyes and his eyes… they're like total opposites!"

"What do you mean?"

"You know… where yours are white, his are black. Where yours are green, his are red. Total opposites! That is so cool; you two are so meant to be together."

"You have no idea." Matilda grumbled.

"Ah guess…" Rogue ran her fingers through her hair and stared at the ground.

"What? What is it?" Kitty asked, concerned about Rogue's suddenly morose mood. "Oh no. You're not doing the gloom and doom thing again, are you?"

"Kitty, Ah'm a goth, the world hates meh, and Ah can't touch. Mah life is pretty gloomy and doomy."

"There! You did it again! Why do you keep doing that Rogue? Why do you keep making excuses for not letting people in? It's like you offer a taste of who you really are on the inside, and then you put your mask back on." Kitty shook her head angrily. "You really are hard to get in to."

"It's not mah fault, damn it! It's not like Ah intend to be the way Ah am! What, you think that some guy flirtin' with meh is going to make meh open up and be bright and happy go lucky! Ah am who Ah am, so accept meh that way!"

"You're right, you're not bright and happy go lucky and I wouldn't want you that way! But I know you're not as cold as you want everyone to believe you are! I've seen you Rogue. In our room, I've seen you crying. It's almost every day you cry by yourself and it kills me to see you like that, okay!"

"You've been spying on meh!"

"It's my room too, it's not weird for me to walk in without knocking. Whenever you were crying when I came in, I would just leave you alone knowing that's what you would tell me to do anyway! I've seen how sad and lonely you are Rogue! And I know there's a kind hearted girl beneath the make up that just wants to be loved but because she's so friggin' messed up, she's too proud to ever admit that! That's the real you Rogue! I've seen her! Kurt's seen her! Mr. Logan has seen her! And Remy has seen her! You know why I want you two together! Because whenever he's around, for five minutes you forget about the mask and you let out the real you, who laughs, and cries at sad movies, and likes hugs! He brings that out in you Rogue, and it's not all that bad!"

"Are you finished?" Rogue said, looking tired. Kitty looked pissed when she said this. "Kitty, it's not easy to take off the mask. You said that Kurt makes you feel like he can see right through you when he looks at you? Well Remy can do the same thing to meh" She cast her eyes downward sadly. "He does see that girl that you were talking about. He thinks she's someone worth while… but Ah'm not. And that… that makes meh hate him."

"God, this conversation took a turn for the depressing." Matilda rested her elbows on her knees and her chin in both her palms. "Eh… it could be worse. At least Rogue's significant other isn't listening in to the bad parts of this little chit chat…" Matilda sniffed the air. "That's odd. Why would there be expensive French cologne out in the middle of the- oh crap!"

Remy stared at the ceiling of the tent, desperately trying to ignore the other tent that he was presently pitching. But that was impossible on account of the fact that he couldn't get Rogue out of his thoughts. He was quite envious of Piotr, who was sleeping quite soundly. So soundly that he let out a very loud snore. Hence the other reason that sleep was failing Remy.

Pretty sure the girls would think he was less noble and heroic and studly if they knew that he snores. He thought. Then a loud, rude sounding noise came from Piotr's side which caused Remy to turn his head to look at his former Acolyte buddy with very wide, shocked eyes. And that he farts in his sleep. That certainly took care of Remy's "down south" problem, but it caused a new one to arise: the smell.

Remy would have laughed if he weren't fanning the air close to his violated nostrils. That is the last time he eats venison on my watch. He thought. He waited a few moments, hoping for the smell to pass. When it didn't, Remy felt his eyes start to water and realized that he should probably let the tent air out some. He clumsily untangled himself from his sleeping bag and then roughly pulled on his beloved trench coat. He fumbled with the zipper to the tent, doing his best to breathe through his mouth.

Remy breathed in the fresh air outside of his tent blissfully. Going to need a little bit more of fresh air, he thought as he pulled out his pack of Marlboro Lights and beat out a cigarette. He situated the cigarette between his lips as he walked to the designated smoking section of the campsite (right by the "facilities") and began to fish for his lighter in his ever present trench coat. He held the small flame an not an inch from his cigarette when he heard, "…Remy can do the same thing to meh…"

The thief senses kicked in, as he replaced his lighter and pulled his cigarette from his lips and he silently stalked closer to where he heard that lovely Southern drawl speak. "…that makes meh hate him."

Remy froze at her words. She can't hate me… can she? He thought. He pressed his back against a tree that stood right at the entrance of the forest. He turned his head to the side, exposing his ear to whatever else she had to say.

"How could you say you hate him?" Kitty asked, surprised.

"Ah mean, whenever he's around meh. Ah hate him. A part of meh does, at least. Ah know he means well, but…" Rogue looked towards the entrance of the forest. I thought I just… never mind. She shook her head and continued. "But each time he comes around meh, it's like gettin' a slap in mah face about how alone Ah really am."

"But you're not-"

"Don't tell meh that Ah'm not alone Kitty. You wanted to have this conversation, and we're having it. So shut up and listen. Ah am alone to some degree. Ah know Ah don't have to be, but it's been this way for a long time. Ah can't just change it because some Creole charmer comes along and tries to convince meh that he wants meh for mah beautiful soul."

"But what if he-"

"But what if he does really want meh for meh? Then he's beating a dead horse, Kitty. He's wasting his time. Ah could never be in a relationship with him because a part of meh wants nothin' to do with him." Rogue shook her head. "A part of meh hates him, and a part wishes that he would die every time he comes near meh. But he doesn't realize how much it hurts for meh to be around another person who wants to be around meh."

Remy looked at the ground. His face was tense and he could feel his skin burning. He was angry… and confused. More confused than angry, to be honest. He knew that she didn't like him sometimes, but he never thought that… she hates him. She doesn't want me around, he thought miserably. It hurts to be around me…? She would never be with me because she…hates me? Remy was fairly aware that he would go to great lengths to please the girl, and right then was no exception. If she wants me to leave her alone… then I guess the right thing to do would be to abide by her wishes.

"Noooooo!" Matilda called as Remy turned on his heels and headed back towards the campsite. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! She didn't mean that! Turn around! Listen to what else she has to say, it can't all be bad!" Matilda made a mad leap to try and grab the edge of Remy's billowing coat but her short stature caused her to fall just short of it. She landed on the ground with her face right in the dirt. Simultaneously, she began to kick and punch the ground in her frustration. "Not fair, not fair, not fair, not fair!" She sat up with a huff not really caring about her dirt smudged face and resumed beating the ground with her little fists from her sitting position. "Why! Why me! I should have just gone straight into Heaven, forget this doing the world the greater good crap!" Matilda stood and stalked back towards the two girls. "Ugh! I'm going to kill Rogue for screwing this up so roya'llly! She had better have a damn good excuse for saying that because I know how she really feels!"

"Well how does the other part of you feel?"

"Ah'm sorry?" Rogue asked, raising her eyes to her friend.

"The other part of you. You said only a part of you hates Remy. So how does the other part of you feel?"

Rogue smiled, though she didn't show her teeth. "The other part of meh… reminds meh that Ah don't hate Remy. Not at all. It reminds meh how much Ah love to be around him. It reminds meh of how he makes meh feel like just a normal girl. And Ah remember how beautiful he makes meh feel. How if possible Ah wouldn't mind spendin' most of mah day… not all of it, but most of it… with him and Ah'd be perfectly happy. He's funny, and smart in his own way, and charmin' and a little arrogant and incredibly good looking. Ah then realize that Ah don't hate him at all… that in fact, Ah can't get enough of him and his Cajun spice."

Kitty squealed happily at the sultry grin that now adorned Rogue's features. Matilda was practically boiling in the background of the trees. "Why couldn't he have stuck around long enough to hear that part! He'd be strutting around like an insufferable ass for the rest of the summer if he had heard this!"

"Then why aren't you all over him like butter on bread?"

"Ah would be, trust meh, if it weren't for these damn powers." Kitty opened her mouth, but Rogue held up her hand before the girl could speak. "Kitty, please don't say the 'e' word…" Rogue looked down. "… even if it is true."

"Are you admitting-" Kitty looked shocked to say the least.

"It seems Ah'm not as proud as you thought. Yeah, Ah do make excuses for mahself Kitty. It's how Ah get by day to day. Or else Ah start to think about… everything that Ah'm missing out on." Rogue shook her head and then looked at her hands. "Ah know it hurts Remy when Ah pull away from his kiss… but you have to understand that it hurts meh too."

Kitty was silent for a few moments; she looked very deep in thought. "You know how you said that in your dreams the only thing you and Remy don't do is kiss?" Rogue nodded. "Maybe… maybe that's because you're scared."

Rogue raised an eyebrow. "Scared of what?"

"Of not being alone. Kissing makes everything so intimate and personal. It's more of a sign of affection than anything else in the world. Maybe on a subconscious level… you never kiss Remy because you're scared of finally letting someone in after becoming so good at being a loner. If you kiss Remy… it means that you finally admit that you care about somebody."

Rogue chuckled skeptically. "So what? Am Ah afraid of commitment?"

"No." Kitty shook her head. "I think you're afraid of being hurt." Rogue's smile faded into a very serious expression. "And trust me… you're definitely not alone in that department."

Rogue's shoulders slumped visibly. "Ah just can't shake the feeling that…"

"That he's going to hurt you?" Kitty finished. "That's the risk every girl takes when they put their heart on the line. And sometimes you end up heartbroken, I admit it. But once in a while… you end up with the love of your life. But you never know until you try, right?"

"Kitty…" Rogue shook her head softly. "Ah don't think mah heart can handle any more pain."

"It's just a chance you have to take Rogue. And it is scary. But sometimes the rewards outweigh the petty fears."

"Take a chance on a guy… hmm?" Rogue pretended to look thoughtful. "Have you ever thought about following your own advice?"

Kitty chuckled lightly, and nodded her head. "I guess we're both like two big chickens, huh?"

Rogue then made clucking sound in her mouth. Kitty laughed again; she grew thoughtful. "Hey Rogue… what would it take to for you to tell Remy how you really feel about him?"

"Besides an insanity plea and an overdose on painkillers?"

"I'm serious. What could I do to convince you to tell Remy you like him?"

Rogue turned her head thinking. "Ah don't know… Ah would do it if…" A very good idea suddenly came over Rogue. "Ah would do it if you told mah brother how you feel on the same day."

"What?"

"You heard meh. Ah would tell Remy, if you told Kurt that you like him."

"Hmm." Kitty rested her chin in her palm as she thought. A smile suddenly spread over lips. "Okay."

"What?"

"Let's do it. I'll tell Kurt and you'll tell Remy."

"Kitty, Ah was kidding. Ah didn't think you'd actually-"

"Oh come on. You already said that you would do it if I did it. And I'll do it if you do it."

"Then we've reached an impasse Kitty."

"Not unless we both tell them." Kitty said with finality and clarity.

Rogue sighed as she stared at her friend. "You're really serious, aren't you?" Kitty just gazed steely at her friend. Rogue inhaled and exhaled through her nose and scratched her head. She finally shrugged and said, "You know what? Let's do it."

Kitty clapped her hands over her mouth as she squealed delightedly. "Really?" She squeaked.

"Yeah. We only walk on this earth once ("Not exactly true" Matilda said), so Ah might as make a fool of mahself in front of the man of mah dreams. At least, Ah'll have a friend making an equal fool of herself."

"Exactly." Kitty stood merrily and extended her hand to Rogue. Rogue stood and the two began to walk out of the forest. "I wonder if we will be waking them."

"Kitty, let's not do it tonight." Rogue said, sounding surprised at why Kitty didn't think of that earlier.

"Wait, tonight is fine! You should tell them tonight!" Matilda called to them; neither seemed to heed her suggestion. "If they don't tell them right now, then those boys will have time to marinate in their self-loathing overnight and make things more difficult tomorrow!"

"We'll tell them tomorrow. Then we won't be in our pajamas and our hair and make up will be done."

"Good thinking." Kitty shook a little bit as she walked with Rogue. "Oooh, I'm so excited. I'm not nervous yet, I probably will be in the morning."

"You should go to Kurt's tent naked. Ah think that would give him a pretty good idea of what you want to do."

Matilda watched them crawl back into their tent with almost disbelieving eyes. "What just happened? The boys are on the warpath to avoid their girls with a vengeance, and the girls take this opportunity to tell the boys how they really feel?" Matilda suddenly pushed her small hands into her hair and pulled at her roots. "Grrr! God this is frustrating! This is going to take some serious damage control, probably more than I have the patience for!" She began to pace in circles yelling madly at the sky. "Why couldn't they have been around to hear the incredibly good part! Why did they have to hear the irreversibly shitty part only!" She slowed her pacing down, shook her head in disbelief and placed her hands on her hips. "I mean, they showed up right at the wrong time and left at the wrong time. Talk about bad…"

Matilda paused as she realized what she was about to say. The clarified look on her was reminiscent of a light bulb turning on from within her. "Bad timing…" She said softly. "Bad timing. Bad timing! That's it! My problem hasn't been idiot students and telepathic professors! It's been bad timing! And that can only mean…" Matilda's face contorted into one of blind fury. Her head turned back and forth quickly as she began to stalk around the camp ground, looking very intent about something. "Doug! Doug, where are you! I know you're here Doug! Just come out and show yourself, it'll be easier on you in the long run!"

Matilda stopped at a point between Amara and Rahne's and Jubilee and Tabitha's tent. Her dark eyes narrowed and she looked between the two tents. Without warning, she reached out and pulled at thin air. But when she pulled, she somehow pulled a whole man out of nowhere.

He wasn't really attractive: an unnaturally long face, thick black glasses, a messy mop of a bowl cut shape of blonde curls that had dark roots showing, and an incredibly lanky build. He was wearing black trousers and a yellow cardigan sweater that hung unflatteringly loose on his limbs. He looked very nervous and twitchy at that particular moment. "H- Hey Matilda. How goes it-"

"I knew it! I knew that there must have been a good reason why my plans continued to fail miserably, and now I know why! Have you been here since I arrived!"

"Well… yes, I think I have." Matilda raised her fist at him and he covered himself pathetically with his hands. "Oh give me a break Matilda! I was only doing my job!"

"'I was only doing my job'." She taunted. "All you've been doing is making my job hella hard and setting me back at least a couple of days!"

"It's in my nature! I am the god of bad timing after all!" Doug straightened up slightly.

"Oh don't give me that crap Doug. Save it for an intern who might think that that title means something. In the meantime, you have to leave. I'm getting absolutely nothing accomplished with you around."

"Matilda, I can't just leave. You're not the only one on assignment you know."

"Oh please! The only assignments you get handed are to make disasters strike when a politician gets re-elected or something! Then you're useful! But right now… no politicians, no interns beneath the desk, and no disasters. So right now, not so useful!"

"Matilda, I can't go anywhere right now. I have very important work to finish up and-"

"If you don't go right now, I will inform Judy who it really was that slept with Gladice at the Christmas party."

"How did you-"

"I have my sources."

"Matilda… you have to understand the direness of my position. If I were to leave now, I could be-"

"And I have pictures."

"How did you get-"

"I have my ways."

Doug opened and closed his mouth twice before turning to leave. "Oh and by the way…" She called to him and he turned to look at her expectantly. "You can forget all about a second date mister!"


	5. Chapter Four: Operation: Deliverance

Chapter Four "Operation: Deliverance"

It was four minutes to four thirty A.M. At exactly four thirty A.M., the Professor would be mentally awakening every student on the campground for a brisk early morning hike up to the summit of the northern mountain. Logan called it a warm up (which could only foreshadow what the rest of the kids' day was going to be like). However, higher powers had decided that at least four of the students wouldn't be participating in the day's activities of running through tire obstacles, swinging on a rope across a creek, and a helluva lot of jogging. And that higher power's name… was Matilda, who was presently doing her own version of morning exercise.

"Don't get strung out… by the way I look… don't judge a book by its cover… I'm not much of a man by the light of day, but by night I'm one hell of a lover." Matilda just couldn't stop dancing. She loved that song! She was wearing a very Gothic looking maid costume with pale makeup, heavy eyeliner, and dark red lipstick as she danced around her own little corner on the edge of the woods where she could easily see all the action of the camp but remain hidden well. "I'm just a sweet transvestite… from transsexual… Transylvania!" In her ears were round white earphones, which were connected to a white chord which was connected to a pink iPod mini, which was held tightly in Matilda's right hand. "So come up to the lab… and see what's on the slab… I see you shiver, with antici… pation… but maybe the rain… isn't really to blame… so I'll remove the cause… but not the symptom!"

Matilda panted slightly as she removed her earphones and changed back into her white dress. "Whew. Tim Curry, you always leave me gasping for air! How much time did that kill?" Matilda pulled her antique pocket watch from the air and looked at its face with a slightly disgruntled breath puffing out of her mouth. "Still a whole minute left? I don't believe this. In the time that they've been asleep I have managed to stage the most supreme plan of my career, set it all up, pick up milk, balance my check book, have tea with Prince William, and save the pandas from extinction! I guess I could go catch up on my CSI DVDs, but I promised Denise that I would watch those with-"

"_Children, it's time to wake up! Logan wants to take you all on a hike! Please be ready to go in thirty minutes._" The Professor's telepathic voice chimed rather cheerfully throughout the cerebral pathways of the students. Its happy tone was contrasted severely by the very loud, unanimous groaning that came from almost all of the tents.

"Good timing Chucky! I better get into position for Phase One of Operation: Deliverance!" And like that, Matilda was gone from her spot.

Kitty rolled over once in her sleep. It's too bad that she didn't notice her arm that swung with the momentum of her torso as it whacked Rogue in the chest. Rogue shot up like a door being slammed on its hinges.

"Ah'm up!" She gasped.

Kitty groggily opened one eye at her friend and slowly rose onto her elbows. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned before she asked, "What time is it?"

Rogue reached for her Jack Skellington watch that was in her bag and looked at it. "Four thirty. Ah can't believe we're being made to get up this early. It's gonna screw with mah sleeping schedule, Ah can tell you that!"

"What, you mean being up until four in the morning and getting up at three in the afternoon?" Kitty asked, reaching for her toiletry bag to wash her face.

"Exactly. Getting up this early… there's something unnatural about it."

"Good thing you're not Amish." Kitty said as she wiped a cleansing wipe over her face.

"Hey, let meh bum one of those from you." Rogue nodded her head at the wipe in Kitty's hand. Kitty handed her a package of Stridex and nervously smiled as she began to rummage through her toiletry bag again.

"So… are you excited about today?" Kitty asked, as she rummaged for her moisturizer.

"About getting sweaty, bug bitten, sun burnt, and exhausted? Thrilled." Rogue replied dryly as she cleansed the pale skin of her face.

"No, no. Not that. About that thing… that annoying thing that we're going to finally get off of our chests today?"

"Bobby?"

Kitty giggled while shaking her head. "No, you know…"

"Yeah, Ah know. Are you really sure about this, Kitty? Ah mean, you tell Kurt how you feel, and it changes everything…"

"Yeah, I know. I could potentially be losing my best friend…"

"… Or gaining a lover."

"That's true. But it's a risk I need to take. I just can't… go anymore without knowing, you know?"

"Ah know. But for meh, it's kind of a dead end either way you put it."

"Hey, none of that talk today. Only, 'Remy, Ah love you and Ah want to spend mah life having your babies."

Rogue playfully pushed Kitty in the shoulder, but she was all smiles anyway. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. Now where is mah makeup?" Rogue began to shuffle through her bag for her Nightmare Before Christmas lunchbox that contained all her makeup.

"You're going to wear makeup on a hot day when we're going to be getting all sweaty and gross?"

"Hey, Ah am going to be pouring mah heart out to the guy Ah like today; Ah'd say that that is an occasion for makeup. Now where Ah put it is the real issue right now."

"Are you nervous? What do you think you're going to say to him?"

"Ah'm not nervous yet, but Ah probably will be when Ah see him. And Ah have no idea what Ah'm going to say to him. Okay, Ah know Ah had it yesterday."

"Had what?" Kitty asked, brushing her hair.

"Mah makeup box. Have you seen it?"

"Like I would go near that manic depressant stuff that you wear."

"It's called Manic Panic and if you haven't seen it, then where did it go?"

"Did you leave it on the jet?"

"No, Ah didn't take it out on the jet."

"And you checked all your bags?"

"Twice."

"Well I haven't seen it Rogue. Did you even pack it?"

"Yeah, Ah know Ah did because Ah pulled it out to take off mah makeup from yesterday." Rogue shook her head. "Maybe Bobby or somebody took it as a prank."

"Maybe. Why don't you just go without today?" Rogue stared at Kitty as though she had grown an extra head. "Or not." Kitty replied quickly. "Hey, you can borrow some of my makeup!"

"Feh! Yeah, right! Like Ah could look anything like Bettie Page or Dita Von Teese if Ah wore that glitter and steeler crap that you wear."

"It's called Stila, thank you very much. And may I remind you that looking like Natalie Portman or Audrey Hepburn is a lot better than going au natural."

Rogue sighed glumly and said, "Well, Ah guess beggars can't afford to be choosers."

Kitty smiled in victory and then dipped back into her own bag. "A change will do you some good! Now let's just pull out my handy makeup bag and we'll… we'll…"

Kitty trailed off as she continued to ruffle items around in her bag. Rogue raised an eyebrow at her and finally said, "We'll what?"

"I can't find it."

"Find what?"

"My makeup bag, my little silver makeup bag." Kitty said, now looking down her sleeping bag.

"Now yours is missing?"

"You were right Rogue; this has to be one of Bobby's pranks or something." Kitty's voice sounded slightly higher pitched, as though she were about to supremely freak out.

"Great. The one day where Ah need to look great and neither of us have any makeup."

"I'm not really worried about my face as much as I'm worried about my hair!"

"Your hair? Your hair looks fine, what's the problem?"

"All my hair bands were in that bag!"

"So? Just wear your hair down today."

Now it was Kitty's turn to look at Rogue like she had grown an extra head. "Are you out of your mind! I always wear my hair in a ponytail, it's my signature look! I am not _me_ unless my hair is _up_!"

"If you ask meh or anyone else who has seen it when it's not in a ponytail, it looks much better down. Besides… a change will do you some good." Rogue smirked as Kitty glared… and then sighed.

"I really wanted to look cute today."

"Ah can tell you right now that mah brother thinks you look cute every day. Besides, it's not like Ah'm going to be looking pretty either."

"Oh God Rogue. You have no idea how lucky you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're one of those girls who can wake up and look pretty. You don't even have to wear layers of makeup, but most girls, like me for instance, have to put in some effort before they even start to look good. Maybe I can make up for my lack of makeup with my outfit." Kitty began streaming items from her bag throughout the tent in her quest for the perfect outfit.

After dodging two books, a toothbrush, and a compact mirror, Rogue realized that she would need to choose her own outfit as well. She pulled her own bag onto her lap and began to move the few books she had packed when she noticed one shy. Where was her sketchbook? Most teenage girls wrote in a diary about their dilemmas. Rogue instead vented by illustrating the various images that popped into her head. That sketchbook was a picture book of the rare glance into Rogue's mind. Oh God. If somebody had taken that as well as her makeup then he might have seen… some very personal sketches. Ones that she would not have wanted a certain Cajun to see. That sketchbook was prime blackmail material and if Bobby or anyone threatened to show Remy what she had drawn, she would be at their mercy. Then again… if she told Remy how she felt before anyone approached her about her book… then she really could not worry about it, because technically the damage would already be done.

Rogue took a deep breath and bound herself to reveal her heart to Remy that day. But first… she would have to look somewhat approachable. She moved aside a pair of jeans in her bag in search of her green cargo pants with all the safety pins in them… and she came up empty. _What the hell_? Rogue wondered. In fact as she searched some more, she came to the startling realization that all of the "cool" (a better term would be Goth) clothes she had packed were now missing. All that was left in her bag was a pair of dark blue denim jeans, a matching denim jacket, and a black cotton tank top.

"Kitty, Ah think Ah might have to kill someone…"

"I think you're going to have to get in line!"

"You don't mean…"

"Someone took all of my clothes except for like this!" Kitty held up a white t-shirt, a pair of light denim jeans, and a form-fitting baby pink zip up hoodie.

"Ah don't know how anyone could have gotten in here to do all this!" Rogue said, flopping her arms to the side.

"This so totally sucks! The one day where I need to look nice, and my cute clothes are gone, all my makeup is missing, and my hair's going to look like crap!"

Rogue and Kitty sat in silence as they looked at their predicament. In reality, their situation was not so serious, but being teenagers… a single flea on their arm would have been the greatest tragedy since a certain boat hit an iceberg.

"Ah guess we really don't have much of choice, do we?"

"I guess not." Kitty sounded defeated. With a final sigh, she began to unbutton her nightshirt and reached for her bra.

"You still want to go through with this?" Rogue asked, pulling off her own shirt and retrieving her own bra (being careful to avoid any skin contact).

Kitty thought about it. True, she would not be looking her best, but she may never feel the courage that she felt that day ever again. It was a "now or never" day for certain. "Absolutely."

All the students had congregated around the area where the campfire had been the previous night. Each student off in their own little circle having their own little conversations, not even noticing the remarkable beauty that the mountain morning had offered. The sun had only risen to the point where there was light out but was not visible due to the mountains that surrounded the valley. The dew clung to each pleat of grass making the ground a bright strong green that was soft to the touch. Most students were chatting amongst each other except for four. Two of them had yet to make an appearance, while the other two were off by themselves. Kurt was perched high in a tree just looking off into the pale blue sky. He did not look like his normal chipper self but no one bothered asking him what was the matter.

Remy twitched slightly as he leant against a tree, looking deep into the forest. He looked amazing even though he had not shaved in two days and his hair was as neat as his fingers could manage. He wore dark jeans that were not obscenely tight but fitted enough to see a very nice lower body and a black t-shirt underneath his trench coat that today served to shield him from the cool air of the morning. He had just experienced one of the worst nights he could remember having in a long time. After discovering that the girl he had set his eyes on hated him, he realized that he desperately needed a cigarette. After smoking the one that he was originally going to smoke before the _incident_, he realized that that night was a two-cigarette occasion. Imagine his distress when he found that he had just smoked his last one. Now imagine the turmoil he felt after returning to his tent and realizing that he had left his only other full pack back on the jet. He could not bring himself to fall asleep with Rogue's voice echoing throughout his ears, so he just stared at the roof of his tent for the remainder of the night. Just when he had lightly dozed off, the Professor woke him with a telepathic message to get ready for a day of strenuous physical activity. That day was going to be a difficult one, he could tell ("He has no idea." Matilda said, watching him through her binoculars).

Jubilee and Rahne walked past him, both young girls making very lustful glances at him. Even with dark circles under his eyes and his body all twitchy, he still looked better than most men on their best day. Remy did something that he probably would not have even considered doing the day before: he smiled back in his own patented flirtatious smirk. _Don't know what I could have been thinking with going after one girl only_, he thought. _I mean, look at all these sweet young things all ripe for the taking. They would gladly kiss me without a second thought. I could have all of them eating out of my hand just by running my hand through my hair! I've got my pick of anyone I want. Why was I wasting my time on a fillè that I can't even… touch…_

Remy's thoughts trailed off when he absently turned his head to look at the other students when he caught sight of an angel. Rogue was emerging from her tent and… damn. Her fair skin was devoid of her mask entirely and seemed to glow like snow with the aid of the morning light. Her white and brown hair was gently blowing backwards with the direction of the breeze, with the white wisps of her bangs gently framing her gorgeous face. His eyes trailed downwards and nearly bugged out when they saw what she was wearing. Rogue rarely wore anything that showed any skin, but that day she chose to wear a black tank top under a jacket that showed a tantalizing amount of her milky cleavage.

Remy had been reminded exactly why he had been spending his time chasing Rogue like a slap to his face with a sack of bricks. He was chasing her because she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life… and she hated him. Last night hit him again just as hard. This day was looking to suck even more than it already had. Not only did he have to accept the fact that the girl he wanted hated him but she had to choose that day to look unequally gorgeous.

Remy looked forward once more with a new found resolve to get through that day. After that, it would be easier to move on.

"You wish! I got sad news for you buddy, but you can never move on from the woman you have been waiting your whole life for!" Matilda called, from her spot beneath a blanket of dirt that she had placed over herself as camouflage.

Rogue had paired her fairly simple outfit with the only pair of gloves she could find, which happened to be some simple brown cotton ones. With her Doc Martin ankle boots on her feet, her green eyes scanned the camp ground for her prospective significant other.

"Kitty, are you coming out yet? Your hair's not going to get any straighter no matter how many times you brush it!" Rogue whispered back through the opening of their tent.

"I'll be a few minutes Rogue, go on without me!" Kitty's voice replied. Rogue shook her head and began to walk towards the group of students but not before she heard Kitty whisper a very hushed "Good luck!"

Rogue smiled and shook her head still. Then she looked for a certain trench coat wearin', card chargin', smooth talkin' Cajun. She saw his back as she took in his form leaning against a tree. She inhaled deeply at the sight of him, and then smiled nervously before walking towards him.

Remy's thief senses when he felt someone with their eyes on him. That same someone was also walking towards him. _Oh God… please, don't torture me like this_, he thought ("He's so melodramatic." Matilda said with a shake of her head). _Please, at least don't let me lose my cool in front of her. Give me strength, Lord, give me strength._

Matilda stood upright, knocking the soil blanket off of her, and revealed her garb for the first time. She wore loose khaki shorts, a blue short sleeved button up shirt underneath a khaki vest with many pockets, hiking boots custom made for her small feet, and a khaki fishing cap with various patches of different types of bird patches adorning it. Around her neck were her binoculars and in her right hand was a large bamboo butterfly net.

Matilda held the binoculars (which were larger than her head) up to her eyes and watched as Rogue drew closer and closer to Remy. "This is definitely a day for notes for the interns." Close by, a bird chirped a lovely little song. Matilda turned her head and binoculars sharply to her left. "Oooh, a carduelis tristis, also known as the American Goldfinch!" Slowly Matilda lowered her binoculars to where they heavily fell down around her neck. She raised her small right hand to be level with her face and then swiftly slapped it hard across her cheek. "Steady now, old girl, focus. Big day today, can't afford anything to go wrong this time. One small mistake and this whole operation could go straight to Hell. Everything needs to be more coordinated than Riverdance in order to pull this plan off." Matilda pulled out her little tape recorder, pressed the REC button, and held it up to her mouth.

"Matilda's War Journal: Day Four. I have successfully managed to lure the four subjects to the mountains. Last night was a breakthrough and a complete disaster in more ways than one. On one hand, subject number two and subject number three have confided in one another and come to terms with the fact that they have warm, fuzzy feelings for subject number one and subject number four. Sadly, due to some unwanted interference from Doug the God of Bad Timing +grumble, grumble, subject number one and subject number four are under the impression that subject number two and subject number three hate them both. Ironically, subject number two and subject number three have chosen this particular day to reveal their said warm, fuzzy feelings to subject number one and subject number four. Naturally, this can only blow up in their faces. This situation is beyond a simple remedy and will require my most extreme finesse in order to put everything in the right. I have given careful thought and consideration to what must be done and have realized that I will need to isolate the four entirely from their classmates and genius, telepathic professor in order to avoid anymore interference. I spent all of last night carefully planning and coordinating what must be done and have come up with the ultimate solution…" Matilda paused to take a breath for drama's sake before continuing. "Operation: Deliverance. Operation: Deliverance is my most complicated plan yet that consists of three carefully scheduled phases in which timing and setup is everything. Hopefully, come post phase three, subject number one will realize that he heard what subject number two said out of context, and that subject number four will come to the same resolution with subject number three, and after that, I feel subject number two will forgive subject number one for coming to such a conclusion, and the same goes for subject number four to subject number… three… wait, Kitty's subject number three and Kurt's subject number four so it would be the other way around and…"

Matilda furrowed her eyebrow and frowned slightly. Then she continued. "Side note: I am going to change the reference names that I have given to the four subjects for note taking purposes, as the web that I weave becomes more tangled, and the initial reference names I have given them only confuses me more. From now on, I will be referring to each subject to an individual name that I think suits them in some way or another. Formerly known as subject number one, a.k.a Remy, from now on will be referred to as the rat. Subject number two, a.k.a. Rogue, from this point forward will be called the… well… rogue. Subject number three, a.k.a. Kitty, will be fittingly called the cat. And last but certainly not least, subject number four, a.k.a. Kurt, will be named the demon. And when I am referring to their pairings, I will call them by a cute acronym assembled from their actual names. For the rogue and the rat, I will call them Remogue and for the demon and the cat, they will be known as Kitturt." Matilda furrowed her eyebrows again and pursed her lips in a disbelieving manner. "And neither of those sound good at all. How about… um… um… Ro…my? Romy? Romy, I like that. And uh… uh… hmm… Kurt… ty? Kurtty! Romy and Kurtty, that's good. Okay, moving on…"

Matilda turned her gaze to look at Rogue. "Preliminary work was a bitch for this one. Last night, I infiltrated the rogue and the cat's tent to remove any items I felt would not help the two prepare for the upcoming events. Considering that they will both be experiencing different types of weather, I chose garment pieces that would look cute and yet adapt to the various climate changes that they will be experiencing, such as light jackets to shield them from the cold but can be removed when the weather grows hot. Likewise, I removed any makeup they may have attempted to put on for a few reasons: one, all women look better without it, and two, it would only cause their skin to break out because they would be unable to remove the crap from their faces for possibly days at a time. I also removed any of those hair bands that the cat seems to enjoy so well because her hair looks much better down. The shoes I selected were-" Matilda paused in her notes when she saw the rogue approach the rat. "Hold that thought. The operation is about to begin. Switching to observation!"

Rogue bit her lower lip as she drew closer to her Cajun. She tried breathing through her nose but that only reminded her of the massive butterfly orgy that had occurred in her stomach. It didn't help that he looked good that day. She had to resist the temptation to lick her lips because she didn't want them to chap. She folded her hands behind her back and smiled flirtatiously.

"Mornin' Cajun." Rogue said, in her ever-so-tantalizingly sultry voice.

Remy audibly gulped before turning to look at her angel face. Oh God, she looked even more beautiful up close. Remy could feel his resolve crumbling like a clump of sand. Her words from the night before ringing through his ears again steeled him once more. "Bonjour." He said, as he smiled politely.

"How'd you sleep?"

_As well as a cat on a log in a sawmill_, Remy thought miserably. Instead he answered, "Fine. Just fine."

"Good." Rogue smiled, and then looked at him expectantly. She planned to wait until he started to flirt with her to say what she wanted to say. The truth was that she was not sure exactly what she wanted to say and was hoping that there was something in what Remy would say that would give her an idea. But he was not talking. He just turned back to where he was looking into the shadows of the forest. Rogue realized that he wasn't going to say anymore and just continued talking. "So, um… today's going to be rough, idn't it?"

"S'pose it will." Remy nodded, but continued to avoid her face.

This was weird. Remy was not acting like himself at all. At this point, he would have normally been leaning in for a kiss. Rogue knew there must be something wrong, so she decided just to cut to the chase. "Remy… Ah've been thinking a lot since last night… about this thing… between you and meh. And Ah've realized that-"

"Y' know, Ah been thinkin' 'bout dat too." Remy said, suddenly turning towards her.

"Oh, you have?"

"Oui. And Ah think…" Remy paused, briefly chewed his lower lip, and continued. "Ah think y' were right… and dat we should just be friends."

Rogue opened her mouth but could not bring herself to breathe in. "Oh." She said, after a second. She stared at the ground and shook her head dazedly. "That's… that's a really different tune from what you were singing yesterday."

"Well… Ah guess… Ah just realized dat… y're right. Nothin' can ever happen 'tween y' and m' because of…" Remy delicately motioned with his hand the space between the two of them. "Y' know."

Rogue nodded slowly. "Mah powers." Her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes were beginning to shine, but she looked away from Remy's gaze so that he would not see that. "So everything you said to meh… about getting around mah powers… it really was bullshit, wasn't it?"

Remy looked emphatically at Rogue. "Non, it wasn't. Y' can get around y'r powers Rogue, and y' should try t'. Ah want y' t' be happy."

Rogue shut her eyes to keep the tears from leaking out and shook her head. She began to walk away but Remy's hand on her shoulder stopped her for a half a second before she quickly jerked away from his touch. "Don't touch meh." She said, opening her eyes to look at him. Her face was entirely devoid of expression except for the tears pooling in the bottoms of her eyes. "You'll get hurt." And she walked to the only spot of the camp where no one else was presently occupying.

Remy was confused, to say the least. His empathy was picking up on things coming from Rogue that conflicted with what he had heard last night. If she hated him, she should not be feeling as sad as he was detecting. He rubbed a hand over his hair and looked at her standing all by herself. He would have given into the urge to go over to her and take back everything he had just said had it not been for the person who had suddenly appeared at his side… and it wasn't Matilda.

"God, Rogue's so moody. I really don't see how she made X-Man and just didn't stay with the Brotherhood. They're really more her crowd. Hi Remy." Jubilee said, bouncing from one foot to the other, hoping that the actions made her look cute.

Remy looked back at Rogue and then down at the Asian girl in front of him. Sure, she was not stunningly beautiful, but she was attractive enough. And she was easy, which was always a bonus. She could make the process of forgetting about a certain untouchable woman easier… he hoped. "Hey dere Jubilee."

"If you are feeling conflicting emotions… that's good. You should be." Matilda said, watching Remy through her binoculars. She then turned her head to look at Rogue, who was crying silently by herself. Matilda winced visibly in her face. "Oh, that's harsh. That was almost like something out of _Dawson's Creek_… except it was less wordy. I always hate having to watch hearts be broken… but I always love mending them! Hopefully, Operation: Deliverance will deliver that and more to the rogue and the rat." Matilda redirected her attention when she saw movement at the girls' tent. "Looks like the cat's emerging to approach the demon. Back to observation!"

Kitty was feeling very self-conscious that morning. She wore the jeans, white t-shirt, and pink hoodie with her pink Converse shoes. She ran a hand through her brown hair, which was surprisingly quite long. It stopped at the middle of her back, but she wore it up all the time so no one could behold its beauty.

Kitty's nervous blue eyes darted around the campsite looking for something else of a blue nature. She finally saw something long and blue swishing in a tree towards the right of the camp. She breathed in deeply and walked off in that direction. When she was in front of the tree close enough that she had to crane her neck to look up at her furry, blue friend, she called out, "That's an awfully big blue jay sitting in that tree! Better hope it's not hunting season, you'd be prime game!"

Kitty's loud voice boomed from behind Kurt and he swayed backwards on his tree branch. After regaining his balance quickly, he looked down and saw Kitty with a giggle in her voice and a sweet smile on her mouth. And for a moment… Kurt's troubles were completely pushed from his mind. Gott, she was pretty. The glimmer in her eyes and the smile on her face with her hair tumbling down her shoulders like water made her just about the most beautiful creature Kurt had ever seen. He allowed his signature grin to grace his features before remembering quickly the silent promise he had made to her the night before. His smile faded and he ducked his head before they could make proper eye contact.

Kitty looked at him strangely at his odd actions. "What are you doing up there? Come down from there, I want to tell you something!"

Kurt kept his eyes on his tail that was draped haphazardly across the branch. "Um… I'm actually not feeling too good today Keety."

"Oh. Are you sick?" She asked, suddenly sounding concerned.

"Maybe." Kurt replied, but not even Kitty could miss the uncertainty in his voice. He was obviously hiding something. "Perhaps, you should stay avay from me, ja?"

Kitty cocked her head confusedly at him. "Kurt, if you're not feeling good, you should tell Mr. Logan and sit this one out."

"I don't think I'm sick… like that. I just think that…" Kurt swallowed before he spoke again; this part was going to be hard to get out. "… that maybe you should keep avay from me… for the trip."

"The trip? You mean this whole week or however long Logan's going to keep us here?" Kitty asked, disbelievingly. This had to be a joke, just one of Kurt's jokes. But Kurt remained silent and stoic and still not looking at her. Was he serious? "You're not being serious, are you?" He said nothing from his tree. "Why do you want to not be with me?"

"It's not that." Kurt said softly, but loud enough for her to hear. "I just do not feel vell enough to deal vith you right now."

"Deal with me?" Kitty said, not hiding the tinge of anger in her voice. "So… you think it's hard to be around me?" Her anger didn't subside when he said nothing… and when he continued to avert his eyes. "Kurt, come down here and say that to me."

This was becoming increasingly difficult for Kurt. Kitty had taken his words the wrong way… or she could have taken them the right way, even he wasn't sure what he had meant. He just knew that he couldn't bear acting as though he had nothing. But… he really wanted to be close to her. "Keety… please, I can't…"

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" She had become so angered that she had not even noticed the tears starting to sting the corners of her eyes. "I don't understand you, Kurt. Everything was okay yesterday. What happened last night that made you mad at me?" Kurt turned his head towards Kitty and it looked as though he was finally going to look her in the eye…. then he carefully maneuvered his eyes so that he would not look at her own. "God Kurt, look at me and say that!"

Kurt shook his head, but didn't look at Kitty. She bit her lower lip before turning away and rushing off in the opposite direction. Kurt finally lifted his head to look at her retreating back, and couldn't help but feel that he had just made some great and horrible mistake.

"You want to hear something funny, Kurt? You _did_ just make a great and horrible mistake!" Matilda was sitting right behind him in the tree and watched Kitty go stand next to Rogue. She sighed before she spoke into her tape recorder again. "This isn't going to be easy. But true love never is. You see, it's not worth it if you can't fight for it. Obstacles can make the heart…" Matilda stopped when she saw Kurt teleport. "Is he going to Kitty to make up or-" She stopped when saw that all the students had moved towards the center of the camp into a circle around a short, hairy man. "What have we here? Hold that thought." Matilda shut off her tape recorder and crouched low on the branch and watched the group through the leaves of the tree.

"All right X-Men… LINE UP!" Logan boomed at the students. Every one of them formed themselves in a straight horizontal line shoulder to shoulder. All of them kept their faces forward not looking at anything else but the space in front of them. Logan began to walk the line they had formed and looked at each of them to be sure that they were prepared for the day ahead. For the cool weather the morning brought, he wasn't wearing much. Just a pair of faded jeans, some hiking boots, and his very hairy chest ("Is that a sweater?" Matilda mused to herself). "Here's how this is going to work. This morning we are going to go up the trail on the north mountain to its peak summit, and then we are going to go back down the same way. When we get back, the real training's gonna start. We will take one short break on the way up, but it's a non-stop trip on the way down. If you fall behind, you better have paid attention to your surroundings because it's going to be up to you to find your own way back to camp. We're not going to have the whole school spend the day looking for your sorry ass. This is not a nature hike so I don't want to catch any of you looking at the majestic scenery. Do you understand me!"

"YES, SIR!" All the students bellowed at once.

"All right X-Men… move out!" Logan said, taking the lead of the line as they started up towards the mountain.

"Uh… Mr. Logan?" A nervous male voice belonging to Sam asked from behind him.

"What is it Lexington?"

"What are we gonna do about breakfast… sir?"

Everyone was surprised when Logan grinned somewhat evilly at all of them as he looked back at the students over his shoulder. "What do you think we're going to get on the mountain?"

Almost all the students suppressed the urge to groan. Looks like later it was going to be Bambi Bourguignon.

No student seemed to notice the small, lone figure smiling gleefully as she watched them disappear into the trees that shrouded the trail up the mountain. "Perfect." Matilda said, rubbing her hands together a little sinisterly. "A little more work and they'll be completely out of range from that professor of theirs… and far away from those nosy students… and ripe for the taking. Now commencing Phase One of Operation: Deliverance!"

They had only been walking for half an hour, but is seemed a helluva lot longer. Sharp, angled rocks covering a normally dirt covered path can do that. At first it did not really bother anyone, but thirty minutes of rocks can do that to a pair of feet. Some students had taken to saying "ow" each time they took a step they took. Others simply rubbed their feet through their shoes. Logan did not notice their plight as his feet would heal repeatedly as he walked. Another person was immune to the torturous little rocks but only because she was gliding far overhead by way of a small hang glider.

"They look so much like ants from up here." Matilda said, looking at the little dots walking in a line up the mountain through her binoculars. "I guess my rocks did the trick. They're definitely going slow enough for me to mess with them. Hmmm…" Matilda looked through her binoculars once more. "I'm going to have to anal retentively time this. Now let's see." Somewhere, a calculator appeared in Matilda's upturned palm with a POP. Using her thumb to punch in numbers she began muttering, "Take the rate at which those two are walking…" Briefly letting go of the rail, she sucked the tip of her index finger into her mouth and held it up. "… and I then take into consideration the wind speed… and then the mass of the pebbles… mmm hmm… yes, yes… carry the one… and you get…" Matilda smiled as she looked at the results on her screen. "Fantastic." As she tossed the calculator over her shoulder where it vanished somewhere behind her, she angled her hang glider to go lower. She was about ten feet above the students when she reached into her windbreaker and pulled out a small baggie containing two pebbles. She quickly poured the two pebbles into her palm and then turned her attention back to the students below her. "Now launching… in five… four… three… two… one… and BOMBS AWAY!" Matilda released the pebbles from her palm and they plummeted quickly through the air where they went soundly down the heels of Rogue and Kitty's shoes. "Sweet."

Rogue should have known that today was going to be terrible. Any day that begins with a laborious trek up a mountain is never a sign that says "the day will be filled with sunflowers and it will rain cupcakes." Her mood was about to get worse. After a while Rogue began to notice a sharp pain stabbing her in the foot again and again with each step she took. _Damn little fucker_, she thought as she realized that she had a pebble in her shoe. It's surprising that such a small rock could bring about such torture that could almost give the Chinese Water Torture a run for its money. It took Rogue about a minute of walking before she could bear it no more. She pushed Alex roughly out of her way as she crossed the path to sit on a rock that lined the path.

Practically flinging herself on the rock, Rogue removed the guilty shoe, turned it upside down, and began to shake it until the cursed pebble began to shuffle towards the opening. Rogue did not look up as Kitty sat down beside her.

"These rocks are a killer, aren't they?" Kitty said casually, as she removed her own shoe.

"Annoying little fuckers is what they are." Rogue looked up at the passing crowd were making an effort to turn their heads to look at the sour but-oh-so-pretty looking girls. "We got rocks in our shoes. Ah got an idea, take a picture, Ah'm sure this is very photogenic!" She said, as she held up her middle finger to the kids passing. Not surprisingly, almost all of the kids hurried along a lot faster, not daring to even look in Rogue's general direction. When she saw Jubilee smirking as she walked by, Rogue bared her gritted teeth and made a very scary hissing noise; it promptly wiped the smirk off her face and she actually looked scared as she hurried along.

"Wow." Kitty said, looking somewhere between startled and impressed. "Is it just me or was that a little more vicious than usual?"

"Well… Ah'll tell ya that it's not just you." Rogue said, as she noticed Remy coming up at a normal pace. He did not look directly at Rogue, but Kitty could see his eyes turn to watch her as he passed. He did not stop or say anything, which Kitty determined very quickly was extreme anti-Remy behavior. She became even more convinced that something was up when Rogue's _slow death_ glare was following Remy as he walked by. What many people did not know about Rogue was that her patented death glares had varying degrees of intensity; Kitty only knew this because she spent the most time with Rogue and had noticed many small nuances about her that even Rogue herself probably did not even realized that she had. There was the "quick and painless" glare, the "sudden and unexpected" death glare, the "I hope you die with a sock full of Tabasco flavored gelatin stuffed into your anus" glare, and then "the I hope your death is horrible, messy, and slow" glare. In short, it is a bad thing when Rogue grants you that particular glare.

"God… I think you could make a baby cry with the look that you just gave Remy." Kitty said, with her eyebrows raised. Rogue snorted briefly, but focused more on picking the pebble out of her shoe with her fingers. "What's up with you two?"

"What makes you think that something has to be up?"

"Well…" Kitty started slowly as though she was thinking about her answer. "Yesterday, you couldn't get him to leave you alone and you were actually being nice to him. Today, he's walking past you without saying a word and you're doling out your worst possible death glare. It's a far cry from yesterday, I'll admit."

"You'd be surprised how much can happen in the period of five minutes." Rogue replied dryly.

"Actually… no, I wouldn't." Kitty said glumly as Kurt passed by, noticeably ducking his head and walked on without a word.

Rogue watched this very subtle exchange of actions and nodded her head in understanding. "Ah take it that things didn't go too well this morning with mah brother."

"That depends. How well did it go with you and Remy this morning?" Kitty asked, knowing full well what the answer was to that question.

Rogue breathed sharply through her teeth in a very visible wince. "That bad, huh?"

"Total disaster." Kitty said, nodding her head. "But you go first."

Rogue proceeded to recount the earlier conversation with Remy. When she finished, Kitty was shaking her head in an ironic believable-disbelief. "I can't believe he said that! It doesn't make sense at all. I know he's like, totally into you."

"Maybe he _was_ into meh. But that was before. Ah don't know if Ah did something last night that could have made him change his mind so quick. Ah mean, we sat together at dinner and we talked a little bit after that, but that was it." Rogue turned her head just in time to see Kitty giving her that searching, questioning, analytical look once again. "What is it Kitty?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just..."

Rogue sighed when she saw that whatever Kitty wanted to say, it was definitely not "nothing", there was definitely "something", and Kitty was terrible at hiding it. "What is it this time Kitty?"

"Well… didn't you tell him right to his face that you wanted him to leave you alone?"

"Yeah, but Ah didn't want him to do what Ah wanted!" Rogue said emphatically, before actually thinking about what she had just said.

Kitty sighed and said, "Well Rogue… that just makes you fickle."

Rogue opened her mouth, ready to retort, but the words just could not come out of her mouth. "Ah… Ah guess he is just doing what Ah wanted him to do."

"Mmm hmm. Well, you kept telling him like every day to 'leave you the hell alone'. I guess it was only a matter of time before he got the idea. I mean, you can only beat a dog so many times before it learns its lesson."

"Are you comparing Remy… to a dog?" Kitty thought about it for a moment before nodding. Then Rogue thought about it and shrugged. "It fits, Ah suppose. Especially now since he's got someone new holding his leash."

"If you mean Jubilee, I hardly think flirting with him and obnoxiously giggling at everything he says and practically throwing herself into his sleeping bag qualify as holding the leash."

"Yeah… but at least he would be in a real relationship with her… that scrawny, little… no good, annoying… jailbait tart."   
"And they call me Kitty." Rogue's friend replied. "Plus, I don't think Remy could ever be serious with her."

"Ah seriously don't care anymore. Ah only wish… that he hadn't bullshitted meh about… actually being in a relationship and it working out."  
"Oh God Rogue, you got your hopes up, didn't you?" Kitty asked, looking very concerned.

"No, no, of course not. Come on Kitty, Ah know better than that." Rogue faked a smile at her friend as Kitty looked back skeptically.

"Wow… this hurt real bad, didn't it?"

Rogue's somber expression was enough to make Patsy Stone sober up. She took a breath in and a breath out before answering. "You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"Ah was convinced that all Remy LeBeau was ever gonna do to meh is hurt meh… physically or mentally. And it looks like Ah was right."

"I don't think that's funny at all. What's the punch line?"

"The punch line? The punch line is that… this is the one time that Ah wanted to be wrong." Kitty was struck silent as Rogue looked down at the ground. Neither girl spoke for a moment. As Kitty was tucking some of her hair behind her ear, Rogue said, "So what happened with mah brother?" Kitty took a deep breath and retold the conversation that she and Kurt had had that morning. Rogue listened attentively and looked completely confused when Kitty had finished. "That makes no sense at all! What the hell has gotten into that furball?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me."

"Kitty, Ah absolutely have no clue. Ah mean, as far as Ah know, Kurt is crazy about you. Ah really can't think of why he would say something like that-"

"Is it true though?" Kitty asked suddenly, looking a little pained.

"Is what true?"

"That it takes like 'effort' to be around me?" Rogue's mouth was parted as though she wanted to give Kitty an answer, but nothing was coming out (much like a fish). Kitty raised her eyebrows and her eyes became substantially wider at Rogue's silence. "Rogue?" Kitty said her name like a demand. She looked pained, horrified, and startled when she said, "You mean it's true!"

"Not like that Kitty! It's just… you're a very high-energy person… and with _any _high-energy person, you yourself need a lot of high energy to keep up with that high-energy person's… high energy. Do you understand what Ah'm saying?"

"… I… don't know. What was that part with the… the… first high energy person and… what did you say?"

"Okay… Ah need high energy in order to handle your high energy and-"

Kitty began to shake her head in frustration and clenched her eyes shut. "Okay, wait a minute. You've been avoiding my question; am I hard to deal with?"

"Kitty, you're not difficult at all. You're easy going for the most part and you're fun to talk to. But sometimes a person can just want to spend some time alone. Maybe that's all Kurt wants today, just some alone time. He may have just been in a bad mood today and doesn't want to deal with _anyone_, you know?"

"Rogue, when's the last you even remember _Kurt_ being in a bad mood?"

Rogue made another fish like expression and then cast her gaze downwards in thought. "Um… way back when he first found out about Mystique being his mother… and when Ah broke her statue… and when he found out the truth about his daddy… and… that's it."

"You see? Only when something life changing happens to him does he get in a bad mood! I don't know if anything life changing happened between this morning and last night!"

"Yes, well it's often the things that we don't see that change our lives the most." Matilda said; she would have sounded quite sage-like had she not had such a young, high-pitched voice. "It's always the little things that change everything; change happens when you don't even realize it. For example, pulling over and sitting down to remove some pebbles from your shoes. You start to talk with your friend and you don't even notice that the people you have been walking with have gone on far ahead leaving you to choose between a fork in the path." Matilda grinned maniacally as she looked between the two paths and then back at the two girls, still sitting on their rock. She moved quickly behind a tree that stood at the side of the path to the right and pressed her palms to the bark. She craned her neck to the side and glanced at the girls. "I've slowed them down enough. It's time to make the official separation."

Matilda turned her face forward and narrowed her eyes. "Okay, my motivation is gravel in a cement mixer." She cleared her throat loudly before humming, "Mi-mi-mi-mi-mi-mi." She began to clear her throat repeatedly, each time her voice becoming deeper and deeper. In a voice that sounded suspiciously like a certain hairy Canadian, she recited:

"I am the very model of the modern major general.

I have information animal, vegetable, and mineral.

I know the kings of England and can quote the fights historical.

From Marathon to Waterloo in order categorical."

Matilda, needless to say, looked very impressed with herself. "Damn, I'm good. I haven't lost my touch at all." She glanced back at the girls one last time and smiled. "But now for the real performance." She cleared her throat once more to be sure that the girls were still deep in their conversation. "Half-pint! Stripes!" She bellowed (It's pointless to say how strange it would be to the innocent bystander to hear Logan's deep, rough voice come out of the mouth of a girl who looked only seven). Matilda waited with baited breath to see if the girls would take the bait; they didn't disappoint.

"Yeah Logan?" Rogue called back.

Before answering, Matilda gave a gleeful giggle at how beautifully her plan was working. "Drag your lazy asses up here! We don't have all day!" Matilda answered, sounding eerily too much like the Canadian.

"Coming!" Kitty said, as both she and Rogue replaced their shoes and began to rush towards the source of the voice.

Matilda pressed her back against the tree and turned only her eyes to watch the trail, in an attempt to appear inconspicuous (not that she really needed to). She relaxed when she saw both Rogue and Kitty walk together up the right path. She stepped out from behind her tree all smiles and even did her happy twirl. "Phase one complete!" She stepped into the fork and looked up the left trail- the trail where the group of students had _really_ traveled- and grinned a grin that some would deem a little too devilish for her. "Now commencing phase two!"

"Break time kiddies! We start up again in ten minutes, no more, no less!" Logan bellowed backwards suddenly. About half-an-hour of walking led them to ground that did not have as much gravel as the path that they had been taking; in fact, it had next to none. The sudden change should have seemed suspicious to someone like Logan (who is suspicious of anything and everything), but at the moment he was preoccupied with something else… namely Jamie.

"Mr. Logan, you have a general outline of what the territory and layout of this mountain is, don't you? So just in case one of us were to get lost you would be able to find us, yes?"

"I know the general area, but not every landmark. That's why it's vital we all stick together and no one lags behind." Logan replied looking over the collected students.

"What! But someone could grab us from the trail and drag us to Kingdom Come for all we know, and you wouldn't be able to find us! Are you insane!" Jamie screamed hysterically, grabbing Logan's arm.

"Get off me." Logan growled, not even bothering to look at Jamie.

The students had done different things when Logan called for a break. Jamie had immediately gone to annoy Logan, the New Mutant girls (Amara, Tabby, Jubilee, and Rahne) had gone off to use the bathroom in the bushes, X-23 stood not far from Logan with her arms folded across her chest and studied all the students with narrowed eyes, Piotr had removed his pocket sketch book from his back pocket and was penciling a bird he saw perched on branch, Warren and Alex were both stretching the muscles in their backs, and the New Mutant boys were sitting on the ground and goofing off with each other. But Remy had been walking by himself, despite Jubilee's attempts to flirt with him. Here he stood alone looking down the path they had already walked, occupying his thoughts with how badly he craved a cigarette.

Kurt had found a nice tall tree that stood along the edge of the trail. From the branch he sat in, he had a nice view of everyone and what they were doing. But he really was not paying any attention to anyone else. He leaned his back against the base of the tree with a sigh. He looked sadly through the holes that the leaves made at the spots of blue sky that he could see. He wished he had something else to inhabit his thoughts other than a blue-eyed dancer. But he could find no solace in any distractions. He could not bring himself to look at her face in person, but maybe… maybe he could still look at her face without feeling like a jagged dagger had been stabbed through his back straight into his heart. He dug into one of his pockets and pulled out his wallet. He shifted some of the items around until he came across his most prized possession in the world.

Kurt stroked the edges of the picture with his large index fingers, amazed at how beautiful Kitty was capable of being without so much of an effort. He remembered that beautiful day so well. It had been the second day of Passover, and Kitty was about to go to her family's Seder. She wore this long white dress and her hair down. She looked nothing short of angelic. Kurt had to remember her like that for the rest of his life. The cherry blossom tree had just bloomed for the spring in their back yard and Kurt knew that it would be the perfect place to immortalize her beauty. Kitty had been reluctant to let him even come near her with a camera since she was not wearing a stitch of makeup that day (her parents asked her not to wear any as a sign of respect). He had managed to lure her to the tree in question but she still said "absolutely not." Kitty said "no", Kurt said she looked radiant. And just when it looked as though Kitty would never waver, Kurt grinned at her. Now if you've ever had the privilege of meeting Kurt, you would be quick to discover that his smile is infectious. All it took was Kurt giving Kitty that grin. She tried to keep a straight face (at first), but then Kurt bit his lower lip and gave her a look in his eye that would make any girl sit and beg. Kitty was powerless to resist and started to smile and laugh. That's when Kurt took the picture. It turned out to be the best picture Kitty had ever taken. Kurt valued it, not only because she looked beautiful and natural in it, because he loved to watch her laugh.

Kurt felt he should rip it up just because that is what any other guy who found himself in Kurt's position would do. But he could not do it. He shut his eyes and exhaled. He could not let her go yet. "Yesterday…" Kurt sang to himself softly. "All my troubles seemed so far away… now it looks as though they're here to stay… oh, I believe in yesterday."

"All right everybody, let's do a head count just to make sure no one's fallen behind. Will that make you feel more secure Jamie?"

"Yes." Jamie replied, sounding as though he was settling for whatever he could get.

"Mr. Logan, real quick, Rahne, Jubilee, Tabby, and Amara went over there to take a squat." Sam said, since he was sitting the closest to Logan.

"I know. I can smell it." Logan replied. He ignored Sam's disgusted expression and small "ew" and began to count all the heads he could see with his index finger, adding four once he was finished. "Wait a second…" Logan said, sounding concerned, and counted once more.

"We're back! Who missed us!" Tabby announced quite loudly.

"What'd we miss?" Rahne asked.

"Logan's head count." Alex answered.

"I'm two shy." Logan said, grimly.

There was a chorus of "what" and "huh" and also "wha" from almost all the students (and a "quoi" and a "was" from Remy and Kurt). "What do you mean?" Jamie asked, sounding nervous.

"I mean I'm counting only fifteen. There are supposed to be seventeen of you. There are two kids missing." Almost all of the students exchanged worried glances. Kurt jumped down from his tree and Remy rejoined the group. Logan gave the group a scrutinizing look before yelling, "X-Men, sound off!"

"Angel." Warren said.

"Berserker."

"Boom-Boom."

"Cannonball."

"Colossus."

"Gambit."

"Havok."

"Iceman."

"Jubilee."

"Magma."

"Nightcrawler." Kurt was the last one to speak. Everyone waited for a southern accent to shout "Rogue" but it did not come. That meant-

"Rogue's not here." Logan stated, surprisingly not looking happy. "Next person!" Again there was silence where Kitty was supposed to pipe in "Shadowcat". "And Kitty's not here." Logan said, looking even more pissed.

"Maybe- Maybe they just… fell behind a little and need a minute or two to… to catch up." Bobby said, not sounding at all certain.

"You smell that?" Rahne asked X-23.

"Oh yeah. Their scents are completely cold here. We lost them a while back." She replied.

"I'm an idiot for not noticing it sooner." Logan growled at himself. He put his hands on his hips and paced a few feet away from the students, wondering what his next move should be.

Everyone was so busy looking nervously around the woods that no one noticed both Kurt and Remy look away from everybody as though feeling guilty about something.

_They're both… strong…. They can handle themselves if they run into trouble…_ Kurt thought, in attempt to convince himself to calm down.

_Nothing could have happened to them… _Remy thought. _It's not like they would just walk into trouble… they aren't stupid_…_ Dieu, I want a cigarette._

In the time that they've known each, this was the first time that Kurt and Remy ever had the exact same thought at the exact same time.

"She's okay." They both smiled slightly to himself and gave a nod. But Matilda just had to burst their bubble by speaking to both of them.

"Your fault. You know it's all your fault." She said, standing in between the two boys. "If anything happens to her, it's because of you."

The boys had similar responses to that, namely, "No, I had no idea that something like this would happen-"

"If you hadn't snubbed her this morning she would have been walking with you instead of by herself, where some maniac could easily grab her, take her virginity, and leave her for dead. If anything happens to her… it's all because of your selfishness."

Remy shook his head rapidly; Kurt just held his eyes to the ground. "Because of you. Your fault."

Logan did not notice either of the boys' laments. He was preoccupied with figuring out what he was going to do. His baser instincts were telling him to go after them immediately, but… there was this little voice that was telling him otherwise.

"These kids won't be able to fend for themselves for even five seconds." Matilda said, looking analytically at all the students in front of Logan. "Your place is here with them. What you should do is send two students who are perfectly capable of handling themselves out there to find the girls. One of them should be able to cross large distances quickly, and the other should be able to hold his own in a brawl."

_Hmm…_ Logan thought looking at the kids with a furrowed brow. _That narrows it down to Chicken Wing_, he thought looking at Warren, _Elf, Pete, _he looked at Piotr, _and Gumbo._

"You ought to ask for volunteers first. If no one comes up, then you can pick yourself." Matilda said, trying to look innocent.

"All right, everybody listen up!" Logan bellowed at the group. "Who wants to go back down the trail to find Rogue and Kitty!"

At first, no one stepped forward. Remy and Kurt were both considering the thought, but quickly came to a decision when Matilda appeared behind them once more. "Because of you. Your fault."

"Logan!" Remy called.

"Logan!" Kurt shouted. The two boys pushed forward through the crowd of students from their respective ends of the mass of young people. Remy did not even notice the shocked look on Jubilee's face when he pushed past her without even glancing at her.

Logan looked expectantly at the two boys approaching him from opposite sides of the group. "You two?"

Remy nodded almost immediately, but Kurt looked distastefully at Remy before saying "Ja."

"All right, you two go back the way we came and try to stick to the trail. When you find them, meet us at the summit. But if you get lost, forget about the summit and just find your way back to the camp. Here." Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a laminated map of the park. "Use this. Elf, you take it, you got more pockets." He added, handing the map to Kurt. The blue boy took the map and zipped it into one of the pockets of his cargo pants, just to be absolutely certain that he would not lose it. "You two can handle this, right?' He looked at the two young men with an eyebrow raised. Both boys nodded fervently. The older man then stepped up to the two of them until he was uncomfortably invading both of their personal bubbles. "Don't. Screw. Up." He growled so very, _very_ menacingly that any other weaker, less adequate human being would have wet their pants and then soil themselves. But both Remy and Kurt managed to keep their pants clean with just an audible gulp and some wider eyes.

"Ja, sir."

"Oui, sir."

And with that, Kurt and Remy began to walk back down the trail. Everyone watched their backs until they were no longer visible. That's when Logan yelled, "Break time's over! We still got a summit to reach!"

Kurt never liked Remy. Ever. Not since the moment the cocky Cajun whisked his only sister to New Orleans _twice_+. Kurt had never felt a desire to become friends with the world class thief. Which was odd for him, because Kurt usually liked to be friends with everybody. But he could live without being friends with Remy LeBeau. So it is easy to understand how incredibly awkward the silence was as the two of them walked back down the trail.

"So… nice weather t'day, idn't it?" Remy said, slowly. Usually he had no problem talking to people, but Kurt was being about as talkative as a wall.

"Ja, I suppose so, ja." Kurt said simply, with absolutely no expression in his voice (which was frightfully unnatural for him).

"Not too hot." Remy added. He darted his eyes around the woodland forestry that surrounded the trail, trying to think of something to talk about with Kurt. He was getting waves upon waves from the blue, furry teenager and he knew all about Kurt's dislike for him. "Y' know, Remy noticed how pretty Chaton looked t'day, wouldn't y' agree?"

Kurt paused and kept his eyes straight ahead. Remy was almost certain that he would receive no answer, but was surprised when Kurt said, "Ja, she did. She looked… schön."

Remy smiled a little at the wistful tone in Kurt's voice. "Oui, dat she did. Makes dis Cajun wonder tho'… 'bout why y' didn't tell her dat. Bet she would have liked t' hear it."

"You could have told her. I'm sure she vould have been quite smitten vith you if you had." Kurt replied, with some amount of bite to his words.

"Well, as lovely a fille as Chaton is… Remy just don't like her like dat. Sorry if y' got dat idea."

Kurt was silent. Remy was almost positive that the conversation was over, but was proven wrong once more when Kurt started speaking again. "Even if I had told her… it vould not matter. She vants nothing to do vith me."

"Dat don't sound like somethin' she'd say."

"Vell, she said she's afraid of me. So I'm doing my part to abide by her vishes."

"Oh. When did she say dat?"

"Last night, after lights out."

"Hmm."

The two walked in silence a few moments more. Kurt sighed with a role of his eyes. "I could not help but notice that you vere not bothering mein schwester this morning as usual. Did you tire of her so quickly?"

Remy chuckled slightly at the unusual display of cynicism in Kurt. Remy directed his eyes at a mother bird feeding her hatchlings in a tree branch as they passed by. "Non, non, it wasn't anythin' like dat. Remy only doin' what Rogue's been askin' him t' do."

"So she's finally come to her senses. Gut."

Remy chuckled ironically again as the boys continued to walk along. "Y' know Remy be gettin' dis funny feelin' dat y' don't like him too much."

"_Remy_ vould be correct." Remy nodded once, but he just kept on walking. Kurt looked at him strangely. "Aren't you going to ask me vhy?"

"Non, no need t'. Remy already know why." Remy kicked a small rock from its place in the dirt before continuing. "Y' don't trust him. And y' have every reason not t'." Kurt looked at him with his surprise evident. "Oui. For all y' know, Remy could have swiped y'r wallet by now and y' would be none de wiser."

"Ja, right." Kurt replied, laughing slightly. Then he looked over at his walking companion and saw Remy looking through _his _wallet. Shock set in before he could even react.

"Y' don't carry much money around, and dat's hardly a good thing." Remy said, shifting the contents of Kurt's wallet around. A wide grin grew on his lips when he pulled out Kurt's treasured picture of Kitty. He whistled looking at the picture. "Now _dat_ is a fine lookin' fille. How y' can willingly stay away from dat is beyond Remy's comprehension-"

"Hey! Geben sie mir das!" Kurt said, snatching back his belongings and then tenderly tucking the picture away. "Vhat vas that for?"

"Just tryin' t' prove a point."

"That vhat? You can't be trusted? Point made." Kurt shook his head, pushing his wallet back into his pocket. "It amazes me that Rogue put up vith you for so long."

"It actually amazes Remy too." Remy said, licking his lower lip in thought. "Think de reason is dat either she was bein' smart or Remy was bein' dumb. But she made it clear last night how she felt dat's for sure."

"She told you to stay avay from her last night?"

"Don't get y'r hopes up bleu boy. Actually, Remy overheard her talkin' wit' Chaton. Probably, 'bout de same time dat y' heard de same talk." Kurt looked away from Remy suddenly when they came upon a fork in the trail. "Oh, don't get so upset, after all tomorrow is another-"

"Hush." Kurt said, sniffing at the air twice into his nostrils. "Keety… and Rogue. They vent up that vay." He pointed one of his large fingers up the path to the right.

"Y' sure?"

"Positive." Kurt's senses may not have been as attuned as Logan's were, but he could still clearly make out the smell of Kitty's perfume and the fragrance oil that Rogue liked to wear. He began to walk up that trail with Remy following close behind.

Neither boy saw a young girl come out from behind one of the trees holding a bottle of Victoria's Secret perfume in one hand and a small vile of pumpkin fragrance oil in the other. "Perfect. They fell for it hook, line, and sinker." Matilda tossing the two bottles up into a large laundry bag that she had sitting beside her; it contained all the girls' belongings and was taller than her. "I'll have to remember to return all this stuff once I'm through." She said, patting the bag. She pulled her tape recorder out of her pocket and spoke into it. "The operation is almost complete. I have misted all four subjects with Eau du Pine, which will make them smell like any surroundings they encounter in the forest. Their smells are only distinguishable up close, and since they're already a good distance away from their comrades, they're damn near impossible to be tracked by squat, Canadian, and hairy. I also took the Thought Sucker to their radiating brain waves, so they will be able to think just as clearly as Einstein, but that brilliant but also oddly sexy telepath won't be able to find them. I'm about to cover their tracks left on the trail, and after that, it will only be them… and me." Matilda gave a slightly evil sounding chuckle, before looking around the fork as though noticing it for the first time. With just a snap of her fingers, the right trail that the four teens had traveled vanished and was replaced by wild forestry. "Phase two complete. Time to begin the whopper that is phase three. This is my complicated stage yet, but hopefully the results will make it all worth it."

"Rogue, hold up." Kitty said, panting.

"What is it now Kitty?" Rogue asked, stopping.

"We passed by this same rock like fifteen minutes ago." Kitty said.

"We did?" Rogue replied, sounding miserable but not surprised.

"Yeah, because it has that patch of moss that we said looks like Joe Perry's head, remember?"

"Yeah, Ah remember." Rogue said, plopping down on the Joe Perry rock.

Kitty regarded her friend's expression and said sounding sad, unsurprised, and a little scared, "We are like so lost, aren't we?"

"Yeah Kitty. Ah'd say we're lost." Rogue replied, looking up around them. They had been walking for about an hour down what they thought had been the right path. They realized that it was not when they found neither Logan or the other students and turned around to go back. But somehow the trail had vanished on them, and neither knew the way to get back to where they were.

"This has turned out to be possibly the worst day ever." Kitty said, plopping down next to her southern friend.

"Ah second that."

"You don't think that we're going to… you know?"

"Die out here?" Rogue asked and Kitty nodded. "Of course not. Everyone's going to realize eventually that we aren't with them and Logan or somebody will come looking for us. That man can track a flea in a blizzard, okay? He can find us with no problem."

"Good. Then I can focus less on my impending doom and more on the fact that my life has turned into an Avril Lavigne album." Rogue had to laugh at that. Even Kitty gave Rogue a smile. "I wish I were in your position. I would much rather be an Evanescence album."

"Well, actually Ah prefer Within Temptation and-" +SNAP+ "Did you hear that?" Rogue said, turning sharply at the noise.

Kitty nodded, and both girls listened to the rustling of leaves as they were disturbed by someone's feet. "Someone's coming this way!" Kitty whispered sharply.

Rogue motioned with her head at a large nearby tree. Both girls stood up quickly and pressed their backs to the tree and waited for whatever it was that was coming towards them. Weren't they surprised to hear what they did?

"Are y' sure dat dey came dis way?"

"Ja, positive. At least…" Kurt sniffed at the air again. "They _vere_ here. I can't seem to smell them now."

Remy paused and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. His thoughts drifted again to that delicious smoke he learned to inhale into his lungs when he looked at Kurt curiously. He could not help but wonder about something… "Hey bleu, let Remy ask y' a question, oui?"

Kurt sighed exasperatedly. "You're going to ask it no matter vhat I say."

"Y' see? Y' already know everything y' need t' know 'bout Remy." Remy said with a smile. "Were y' ever goin' t' tell Chaton how y' felt 'bout her?"

Kurt sighed again, but this time, it felt more love sick and yet heart broken than anything. Why was Remy insisting on bringing this up whenever possible? "I don't know. I don't think so because I know a girl as vonderful as Keety could never feel- hey, vait a minute. How did you know I had feelings for Keety?"

Remy looked at Kurt as though he was missing a nose. "Well duh. About everybody in de whole mansion knows y'r crazy 'bout de girl."

Kurt looked stunned and as though he was about to throw up at the same time. "Everybody knows?"

"Well, yes. It's about de most obvious thing since someone said 'hey, Ah think Liberace may be gay.'" Remy studied Kurt's eyes as they nearly bugged out of his sockets. "What? Did y' think y' were hidin' it?"

"It vas supposed to be my best kept secret." Kurt said, sounding shocked and deadly serious.

Remy paused with a straight face, because, honestly, he did not believe what he had just heard. Then he burst out laughing. "… Good… job…" He wheezed out between gales. Kurt looked at him with an annoyed looking death glare (he had learned from Rogue well) with his arms crossed. "M' sorry… M' sorry…" Finally Remy faced Kurt and wiped a tear from his eye.

"Are you finished?"

Remy nodded at first trying to keep a straight face. But as he looked at Kurt, a smile stretched across his lips as though he were trying to contain it all. His nod turned to a shake and he began laughing once more. "Okay, okay. M' done." Remy took another look at Kurt's face. One. Two. Three. Four… He burst into another peel of laughter. Kurt put his hands on his hips as he waited for Remy to stop. Remy stood up straight again and looked Kurt in the eye, his face beet red. "Sorry." He said though a grin, looking as though he was still trying to contain his amusement. "Okay, now 'm done."

"It really isn't that funny. You cannot conceal how you feel about my sister either."

"Never felt de need to. Does it bother y' dat Remy got de hots for y'r sister?"

"You vant me to be honest or lie?" Kurt said leveling Remy with a very protective big brother look.

"Think dat's my answer right dere. Well, y' got nothin' more t' worry 'bout Bleu. Dear Roguey don't want Remy 'round no more anyway."

"So you told me. I must say it surprises me considering vhat she said yesterday-"

"What? What did she say yesterday?" Remy said very quickly, obviously not caring that he was interrupting Kurt. Kurt raised his eyebrows at Remy's eagerness. Remembering Remy laughing at him earlier, an uncharacteristically evil thought crossed Kurt's brain: he wasn't going to tell Remy a thing. "Oh, it vas really nothing actually."

"Quoi? Oh, don't play dat way wit m'. Remy have very evil methods for getting' important information." Remy said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Nein, I believe I vill keep this little factoid to myself for the time being."

"Oh no y' don't. Y' gonna tell m' everything y' know, or else…"

"Or else vhat?"

Remy grinned at Kurt, with that lovely mischief shining in his eyes. "Or else Chaton gonna find out 'bout dat certain article of clothing of hers dat y' have in y'r possession." Kurt's smug look faded instantly and was replaced with a shocked frown. "Y' know, dat undergarment dat y' keep in y'r nightstand and smell whenever y' decide t'… relieve a little tension."

Kurt had paled considerably for someone with a blue face. "How did you find out about that?"

"Remy have his ways. Don't feel special. Dis Cajun's got dirt on about every person livin' in de mansion and almost all of de Brotherhood. Comes in handy when de time comes for blackmail."

"Like now?' Kurt asked miserably.

"Exactly like now."

Kurt sighed and muttered something in German (it sounded an awful lot like "kein gutes stück scheiße."). "She said she likes the vay you make her feel."

Remy looked taken aback by this. "But she said last night dat she m' because of de way Ah make her feel."

Kurt looked as confused as Remy. "But that makes no sense. Vhy vould she say one thing, and then say the complete opposite?"

"Oui. Just like it makes no sense wit' Chaton." Remy and Kurt were both quiet for a moment. "Bleu, what exactly did she say?"

Kurt took a deep breath before replying. "She said that she is afraid of my eyes. She said that she has been since ve met."

"Did she say why?"

"Vas?"

"Did she say why she was afraid o' y'r eyes?"

"Vell…" Kurt paused thinking. "Nein, now that I think about it. I kind of left after I heard her say that."

"Hmm." Remy said. "She probably would have mentioned why she was afraid of y' if she was going to bring it up, oui?"

"Ja, that does make sense. Vhat exactly did Rogue say last night?"

"She said dat a part o' her hates m' and de way AH maker her feel."

"And how does the other part of her feel?"

"Quoi?"

"You said only a part of her hates you? What about the other part?"

Remy opened his mouth but no sound came out. He furrowed his brow and turned his eyes towards the heavens. "Ah didn't… stick 'round long enough t' hear dat part actually."

Both Remy and Kurt stared at each other briefly. Then they both stared at the ground, slowly coming to grips with something that they had not thought of before.

"Come on clever boys." Matilda said, with a roll of her eyes. "Two plus two equals…"

"Remy?"

"Oui?"

"Is it possible that since neither of us heard everything that may have been about us, that ve missed something very important?"

"Bingo." Matilda said, shaking her head.

"Y' know, Ah think dat's actually a strong possibility."

A very pained look appeared on Kurt's face. He looked ready to cry. "Oh gott, I have made a great and horrible mistake, haven't I?"

"Don't feel bad. Y' ain't de only one." Remy said, with a hurt expression not too different from Kurt's.

Kitty and Rogue, still behind the safety of their tree, were positively livid. Both girls were not sure whether they should be angry or distressed. On one hand, both young men cared very deeply for them, and that was knowledge they were very glad to possess. On the other hand, their boys had eavesdropped on their conversation (their _über _quiet conversation), and if that was not bad enough, the girls were angered by the fact that the boys had gotten the completely wrong idea from what had been said. If it was possible, they wished that they would not be found so that they would not have to face the inevitable.

"We can't have that now." Matilda said, removing herself from the tree she had been sitting in while observing all of this. She strode over to Kitty and Rogue and very carefully placed a dry branch underneath Kitty's raised heel.

All it took was Kitty to shift slightly where she stood and things began to happen rather quickly. First, Kitty snapped the strategically placed branch just as she should have. Kitty and Rogue looked down at the source of the unexpected noise. They both then pressed their backs to the tree; both girls were well aware that there was no way the boys could not have heard that. They nervously looked at each other and waited with baited breath for whatever their fate would be.

Kurt's ears twitched at the loud +SNAP+ that sounded throughout the woods. Remy looked about, his eyes searching wildly for the possible source of the noise. He looked meaningfully at Kurt, who held up a thick blue finger. Both boys stood for a moment in silence, Remy staring intently at Kurt awaiting a sign, and Kurt moving his eyes around the forest for an answer. His golden yellow eyes settled on a tree not too far away. He jerked his head towards the tree and Remy gave a single nod in recognition.

Neither Kitty nor Rogue looked at anything other than the space in front of them. Kitty pressed her lips together firmly, in fear of letting any breath out. Rogue swallowed in her throat and felt the rough bark of the tree beneath the delicate skin of her hands. One second passed by. Then another. Then another. Then-

The smell of sulfur and brimstone invaded Kitty's senses so suddenly that she barely had time to cough before she was pressed against the tree by a furry, blue, three fingered hand wrapped around her throat. Rogue would have helped Kitty but she found herself also being held up against the tree, with each of her wrists encompassed tightly by a pair of strong calloused hands.

"Rogue?"

"Remy." Rogue replied dryly, as she shot an evil glare at Remy.

"Keety?"

"Kurt." Kitty wheezed.

Both boys immediately released the girls. Kitty tenderly pressed her fingers to her throat and gasped when she felt Kurt's own furry fingers gently push her hand away. He used both his hands as he studied her neck, praying to God that he had not hurt her. Rogue straightened her clothes, leveling Remy with another glare the entire time.

"Where have y' two been? Y' got de Wolverine's panties in a knot wonderin' where de two of y' went."

"Ah'm surprised you cared, Remy." Rogue said, standing up straight and looking him straight in the eye.

"Ah _did_ care. Ah still care. Does it make any difference t' y'-"

"How long have you two been standing there?" Kurt asked, as Kitty stood.

"Um-" Kitty began but Rogue interrupted.

"Long enough." Both Remy and Kurt looked as they had just swallowed cyanide.

"What did y' hear 'xactly-"

"Is that why ya'll were acting so weird earlier? You thought we hated you?"

"Ah heard it straight from y'r mouth, Rogue! Y' said it y'rself and-"

"You obviously heard it out of context! Aside from the fact that you invaded mah privacy, you got the completely wrong idea! If you hadn't been so stupid about jumping to conclusions-"

"Well what was Ah supposed t' think? When someone says dat dey hate y', dere ain't too many different meanings for dat."

"Ah don't hate you, Remy! If you had asked meh first instead of running to that little panty dropper, you have found that out a lot sooner!"

Kitty watched this exchange silently. Kurt had heard what she said last night; he believed that she feared him (when nothing could be further from the truth) and that was why he was trying his hardest to push her away that morning. How to explain things to him now? She had been so enthusiastic about revealing the secrets of her heart to him, but this whole ordeal had chipped away at her resolve. She looked at her furry blue compatriot; he was looking expressionless at the exchange between Rogue and Remy, who seemed to be inching closer and closer to each other's faces with every heated remark. They would have to have a similar argument sooner or later. She would first have to say something to him, at least. She turned to look at him and opened her mouth to speak.

"Kurt?" He said nothing and did not face her yet. "Kurt… I know what I said last night and how it must have sounded…" Kurt remained silent still. "But you have to believe me: it's not what you think, okay?" Kurt inhaled a breath through his mouth but said nothing. "Please say something."

"Keety…" Kurt began; his voice sounded strained, as though he was trying to hold back whatever emotions he was feeling at that moment. "Vhat you said last night… there aren't too many other meanings for saying that you're afraid of me."

"But I'm not scared of you, Kurt! I promise you I'm not!"

"Keety, I vant to believe you… but there must be some truth in what you said. Understand though, that I vould not blame you if it was true. Just tell me… vhy do you fear me and my eyes?"

"Kurt, I'm not afraid of you or your eyes! At least, not in the way you're thinking I am." Kitty did not expect what happened next. Kurt's reply was to turn to Kitty suddenly and roughly pull her closer to him, with her wrists firmly held by both of his hands and her eyes locked with his.

"Look at me and say that! Look me in the eye and tell me that you do not fear me!" He snarled fiercely.

Now if a guy who resembled a blue demon had grabbed any other girl and yelled at her like Kurt was doing, she would have every right in the world to be scared. But Kitty Pryde was not any other girl. She felt no fear in any area of her body as she looked up into Kurt's glowing yellow eyes. Remarkably, she still felt the affection she had towards this young man with each heavy heartbeat.

"I am not afraid of you, Kurt." She said firmly once more, not at all wavering from his gaze.

Kurt blinked at Kitty's resolute answer and released her softly from his grasp. She did not break eye contact with him as she took one half of a step away from him (partial distance, but still close). Kurt took the opportunity to look for any sort of deceit in her eyes. He found himself confused (and relieved) when he found none.

"Wow. De two o' y' make Rogue and Remy look like two baby bunny rabbits fightin' in comparison t' de two gators goin' at it." Remy said, reminding the two of them of their presence.

"It's usually the quiet ones." Rogue said, shaking her head in amazement.

Kurt and Kitty separated even more, bowing their heads slightly in embarrassment. Both Remy and Rogue were leaning against their own individual trees, watching the show.

Kitty looked at Kurt tentatively; his face looked like a mixture of emotions. "Kurt… how could you think that I was scared of you? You're my best friend, doesn't that count for something?"

Kurt sighed; he was not really feeling mad anymore, just… confused. "Ve are best friends, and that means everything in the world to me. But…"

"But?"

"But you know how I am vhen I think someone is afraid of me. And it's not so much of a stretch, the prospect of you fearing me."

Kitty felt something welling up inside of her throat. In a cracked voice she asked, "You mean when we…"

"Vhen ve first met, ja. I know you and I have moved on since then, but… it really, _really_ hurt me."

This all-encompassing feeling of dread and sorrow began to envelope Kitty from the neck down. She felt paralyzed to the spot; she knew that if she attempted to move one foot that she would probably fall flat on her face. She felt so numb that she knew she could not even move her arms. Why? Because she knew she had hurt Kurt.

"The one thing she's always been afraid of happening." Matilda said, shaking her head.

"Do you think about that a lot?" Kitty asked in a weak voice.

Something was wrong here and Kurt was not sure what it was. He had to find out what, lest he make Kitty sadder than she already seemed to be. "Keety, vas is the matter?"

"Answer the question please. Does it bother you how I acted around then… even now?"

Kurt paused before answering "Vell… ja, it does still bother me. I know you must not think about it much, and that's fine, but for me… it is hard forget that look on your face vhen you first saw the real me… Keety?" Kurt stopped speaking when he heard a very shallow, throaty breath being drawn by Kitty. He looked closer at her, and he became very distraught at the sight of the sight of the continuous tears rolling down her face. She pressed a hand to her mouth to keep back a sob but that only made the tears come harder. "Keety… Keety, vhat is wrong? Vhat did I do?" Kurt was ready to cry himself; even when they were fighting, he never, _ever_ wanted to make her cry.

Kitty did not wait any longer; when Kurt reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, she bolted off in the opposite direction, not caring anymore of the unknown that lurked among the trees.

Speaking of the unknown lurking among the trees… "And that ladies and gentlemen is the definition of the shit hitting the ceiling fan." Matilda straightened herself up and began to follow Kitty. "There's only one thing that can fix this abhorrent mess now. It's time to begin the mack-daddy that is the finale of Phase Three; my most complicated stage yet."

Kurt did not noticed any invisible spirits of love vanish; he was too preoccupied with the feelings of wanting to port after Kitty, but a very painful punch to his arm stopped him.

"You idiot! You stupid, moronic, brainless fuzz-ball! You really have no idea how she feels about you, do you!" Rogue shouted at the top of her lungs for every woodland creature to hear.

Rubbing his arm tenderly, Kurt asked, "Vhat are you talking about-"

"Where do you get off telling her how she must feel! That girl has felt bad about how she treated you _every day_ since ya'll became friends!"

Kurt blinked once as the realization hit him in the chest. "She… she has?"

Rogue shook her head disgustedly. "You really are clueless about how she feels about you, aren't you? You don't deserve her friendship!"

Kurt stared off into space as he half fell, half floated to sit on the ground. "Ja… you are right. I don't deserve anything good from her."

Remy cleared his throat alerting the siblings to his presence again. "Um… not t' intrude or anythin', but shouldn't we go after Chaton and get back t' Logan and de others-"

"Oh, don't think Ah'm through with you LeBeau!" Rogue stepped up to him to really get in his face. She jabbed a finger into his chest as she said, "Ah haven't even begun!"

Kitty was walking about blindly. But that is usually a side effect of taking off running when you are having a severe crying fit. _He hates me_, was all she could think. _He hates me and he has every right to_.

Matilda was surprised that she could keep up as well as she did. But she had to; she had a very specific destination in mind for this young girl. "Okay, about four steps forward." ("I love it when they're emotionally distraught; makes them so much more open to the power of suggestion.")

Kitty was not sure how she and Kurt could ever come back from this. Could they ever be friends again? Would they ever possess the closeness that they once had? "Now veer to the left a bit."

One thing was certain: she and Kurt would never be more than bff/friends/acquaintances. It no longer mattered what kind of hopes Kitty had once had; they were gone, gone out the window, faster than the bat of an eyelash. "Okay, just keep going straight now."

This was, without a doubt, the worst day of her life. Nothing could rectify this situation; it was without hope. Kitty felt a strong wish to fall off a cliff right then.

"Wish granted. About three more steps… almost there… and…"

"And just what is the deal with your obsession with your trench coat, huh? It's in the middle of June, for Pete's sake!"

"Y' wouldn't understand even if it was explained t' y', y' self-involved river rat!"

"Try meh, you arrogant, pig-headed, swamp ra-"

"AAAAHHH!" A voice suddenly shrieked in the distance. It commanded the three young people's attention immediately. Kurt said all that needed to be said for them to spring into action.

"Keety." +BAMF+

Kurt had visualized on Kitty, hoping that it would lead him straight to her. He looked around frantically, but he could see no sign of Kitty. "Keety! Keety, vhere are you?"

"Kurt!" A voice called back. But where had it come from?

Kurt finally looked down. There was Kitty, staring helplessly back at him, dangling off the side of a cliff. But not just any cliff; this was a ledge to an incredibly deep ravine in the mountain. And at the bottom of the ravine? A wild, gushing, rapid river. Needless to say, this situation had death written all over it.

"Kurt, wait up!" Rogue called beginning to run after her brother. She could feel the air change beside her and knew that Remy was keeping up.

"Y' wait up!" He said, keeping in pace with her.

"Oh, don't think we're finished! We still got words left mister!"

"Lookin' forward t' it!" Remy snarled back. Rogue looked ahead and saw Kurt looking over into a ravine. Realizing that that must be where Kitty was, she picked up her pace. She knew her brother well, and knew that he was about to port.

"Kurt, no!" Rogue said desperately, grabbing a hold of Kurt's arm. She got a full look at Kitty's predicament; Kitty was hanging onto possibly the smallest ledge with only the tips of her fingers. Anymore added weight, even a feather, would make her fall. "You port down there, you're _both _going to plummet!"

"Vell then vhat am I supposed to do Rogue! I'm not going to just stand here and let her die!"

"Could somebody please just do something quick!" Kitty screamed in her panic induced state.

At hearing the sound of her frightened voice, Kurt dropped to the ground and laid flat pressed against his stomach. He extended his arm as far as his body's limits would permit him and stretched his hand out toward Kitty. "Keety, grab my hand!"

Kitty pressed her left hand more firmly into the ledge and tried to pushed her right hand to meet Kurt's. She heard the rock crumble and she felt the wind around her as she fell. "AAAH!" She screamed. Fortunately, she reached out and grabbed at the cliff, finding another ledge to grip, but it was no more sturdy than the last one. "Kurt, help me!"

"Hang on Keety!" Kurt inched a little bit further out onto the ledge and reached down again. He was somewhat closer to Kitty, but not close enough to pull off a daring rescue. "Rogue, I need more slack!"

"How are we supposed to give you more slack Kurt?" Rogue asked, sounding almost as freaked as Kitty.

Kurt took a deep breath as he realized what he would have to do. "Remy… Rogue… grab a hold of my feet."

"Quoi?" Remy asked, not believing what he had heard.

"You're kidding." Rogue said, feeling the same as Remy.

"Not kidding. Lower me down." He locked eyes with the rogue and the rat to show how very much _not kidding_ he was. Without any further objections, Rogue and Remy each firmly grasped one of Kurt's ankles with both their hands. Rogue squatted and Remy crouched close to the ground. Kurt crawled further over the ledge until almost his entire body was suspended over the side. Rogue and Remy continued to lower Kurt until he was completely upside down with only the two southerners as his lifeline.

"Perfect. They are right where I want them." Matilda said, framing the four forms in front of her with both of her thumbs and forefingers. She smiled as she reached into her pocket of air and pulled out her extra, extra large Booty Buster reinforced pinewood paddle. "One sharp whack to their (incredibly sexy) buttocks ought to send them straight down into the river." Matilda was in process of doing a few practice swings when she spied something of interest towards the far right of her. "Ooh, better idea." Matilda replaced her Booty Buster and bounded off towards her new target. "Excuse me! Excuse me, please! A moment of your time!"

"Just a little bit more!" Kurt called back to the two holding his feet.

"We can't go anymore Kurt!" Rogue yelled back, sounding very strained.

Kurt looked down again; Kitty was still just out of his reach. If Rogue and Remy could go no further, then he only had two options left: he could tell them both to lower him further by his tail ("ouch") or he could go down himself, which was by far more risky and placed him in more danger…

Kurt looked straight into Kitty's face and his mind was made up instantly. Her eyes looked terrified and the stains from where she had been crying earlier had dried somewhat on her perfect porcelain cheeks. There was a fresh batch of tears that had welled in her eyes but remained where they were. There was no other choice for him to make. "Remy? Rogue? Let go of me!"

"What!" They both said in unison.

"Let go of me entirely!"

"Y' sure 'bout dat?" Remy asked.

Kurt pressed both of his three fingered hands to the wall. "Ja, I am sure. Do it now!"

Rogue took a deep breath and held it as she released her only brother's foot. Remy followed suit and did the same. They both stood and took a step back as they watched Kurt's feet and the point of his spaded tail disappear over the ledge. They peered over to see Kurt crawling down the wall towards Kitty.

Rogue let out the breath she had been holding. Remy placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which (for once) she did not flinch off. They were both just enjoying this moment of quiet when they heard something behind them. Something that sounded suspiciously like a very low growl.

Slowly, Rogue and Remy turned to face what was quite possibly one of their worst possible fears confirmed. Fully standing on its own two feet and its large fangs bared and dripping with drool, was a massive bear slowly coming towards the two young mutants.

Instinctively, Remy took a careful step in front of Rogue, pulled her closer to him, and placed his arms loosely around her. Rogue gently placed her hands flat on his chest; she would never, _ever_ tell him that she did feel a little safer in his arms (though in retrospect, all Remy would be able to do was keep the bear from mauling her for a few moments longer since it would go for him first).

Remy darted his eyes quickly behind Rogue and then returned his attention fully to the bear. "Dere's a tree branch behind y'. Ah'll distract her, y' grab de branch, an' give it a hard whack t' de head." He whispered.

"Ah'm not going to be able to get to it fast enough. We'd have a better chance with your bo staff." Rogue felt around his front, dipping into his pockets as subtly as possible, so as not to cause any sudden movements (Remy had to focus on the fact that their lives were in danger so he would become distracted by the feelings of Rogue's gentle hands on his body). When she could not find the weapon, she whispered sharply, "Where's your bo staff?"

"Left it at de camp. Didn't think Remy would need it t'day." The regret and panic in his voice was evident.

"How ironic." Rogue replied dryly. Rogue had watched enough Animal Planet with Rahne to know that the worst thing to do would be to agitate the animal, and a whack to the head with a stick would do exactly that. But then what could they do… "Maybe… maybe we should try playing dead.'

"What? Dat never works." Remy whispered back a little too loudly this time because the bear growled a little louder at them. His hands tightened around Rogue and she unconsciously drew herself closer to Remy. "Ah got 'bout four decks in m' right pocket. Don't think Ah can get t' 'em fast enough."

"It would definitely take a swipe at us if we tried to run too."

"Dat means we only got one way out."

Rogue knew what Remy was referring to. Both cautiously turned their eyes toward the ravine that Kurt was presently scaling. "So basically our choices are between certain death and certain death?"

"Oui. But would y' rather be mauled by a bear, or take our chances wit' de river?"

Rogue never got a chance to answer. As soon as Remy had finished speaking, the bear began to charge them. Locking eyes one last time, Remy grabbed Rogue's hand and together they jumped off the cliff.

Kurt situated all four of his limbs to where he could crawl down somewhat comfortably. "Time to do this Spider-Man style." He said to himself.

Kurt kept his eyes locked with Kitty's as he crawled down the wall. When he was about level with her, he rotated his body counter clockwise until he was right side up. Crawling closer to Kitty, he carefully swung one leg backwards so that he was facing the opposite side of the ravine. "Only a contortionist/gymnast/circus acrobat." He muttered to himself. He turned his eyes towards Kitty and reached out his hand to her. "Come on Keety."

Kitty whimpered and appeared as though she was on the verge of tears. "Kurt, I can't, I-"

"Keety, please. You have to. You can do it."

Kitty looked into Kurt's face. Not daring to look down, she carefully placed her right hand into Kurt's left hand. Kitty almost sighed in relief and pleasure at the feeling of Kurt's soft fur touching her silky skin. Kurt quickly pulled Kitty into his arms before she lost her grip on the ledge. She immediately wound both her arms around the back of Kurt's neck and then wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. She used the crook of his shoulder to rest her head on and as a place for her to weep into. Kurt used one hand and both of his feet to keep the two of them anchored to the wall of the ravine; his tail wrapped itself soundly around her waist and his free arm was placed over her back comfortingly. Kitty was shaking so hard with each sob that Kurt feared he may lose his grip. He tightened his hold on her and stroked his thumb over her back.

"Sssh Keety. It is all right."

"I was scared." She replied in a choked whisper against his throat.

"Ja, so vas I." Upon saying this, Kurt involuntarily pressed his face into her loose hair and inhaled deeply. After a moment or two of letting the relief wash over them both, Kurt began to turn his body around so that he once again faced the wall. The only difference this time being that he arched his back further out so that Kitty would have some space. "Hold on tight, okay?"

Kitty nodded once and tightened her legs and arms around him. As Kurt carefully began to climb Kitty sniggered to herself. "I know that must have cost me one of my lives."

Kurt grinned but continued to stare straight up. "Vell you shouldn't vorry anymore because you are safe now-" Kurt's grin faded and his eyes got wider. "Uh oh."

"What is-" Kitty looked up and saw what was worrying Kurt. Coming towards them at a rapid rate were the plummeting forms of Rogue and Remy. "Uh oh."

After its prey vanished, the bear fell back to its all fours. It slowly traipsed back into the forestry. It had not come very far when it began to grunt affectionately. In a partial opening among the trees, there were two small bear cubs playing with what appeared to be a little girl.

Matilda picked up one cub and rubbed noses with it. "Your babies are just beautiful!" She gushed. "You must be very proud." She set the cub back on the ground and stood. After affectionately scratching the mother bear's head, Matilda looked past her to where the cliffs stood. "Thank you very much for your help. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go make sure these kids don't fall to their deaths."

Matilda ran past the massive bear and towards where the four had been standing. Somewhere along the way, Matilda managed to get changed into a parachute and a parachuting jump suit, complete with helmet and goggles. Without so much as a bat of an eyelash, she dropped off the edge of the cliff and began to plummet rapidly. Was she scared at all? Hell no. In fact, she was thoroughly enjoying the feel of nothing but wind all around her. As the spirit of love, she had grown accustomed to all types of falling.

When she became level with her four falling subjects, she used her arms to bring herself closer to them. "Sharp rocks at the bottom, take precautions!"

With that said, Kitty reached out and grabbed the first thing she came into contact with, and that happened to be Remy. Kurt, on the other hand, reached out for Rogue with his hands and tail. Kurt wrapped all fives around Rogue's form and teleported more towards the middle of the river, a somewhat safe distance away from the rocks. Kitty wrapped her petite form around Remy's body to the best of her abilities and clenched her eyes shut. The two of them went through the rocks safely and intangibly. However, all four youngsters still ended up in the rapid river (none of them noticed the small girl safely floating down via parachute).

Kitty was completely immersed underneath the water. She flailed her arms slowly and her eyes bugged out of her head. She was about to being really panicking when she felt a strong hand pull on the back of both collars of her jacket and her shirt. Before she could even blink, she was gasping for breath back above the surface of the water. She looked about wildly and saw a sopping wet Remy keeping a close distance to her. This was not an easy task, as the river continued to bring them further down at an incredibly fast rate. Kitty nearly started to panic when she saw Remy holding his arms out as though he were about to start swimming. "No! No, whatever you do, don't swim! Just go with the rapids but keep above water!" Remy nodded once at her and did as she said. Both Remy and Kitty looked around (to the best of their ability) for Rogue and Kurt, doing their best to ignore the water splashing in their eyes, mouths, and against their necks. It was a very good thing that a blue, pointy eared head and white and brown hair stood out, as Kurt and Rogue came into vision.

Kurt turned and looked behind him into Kitty's eyes. "Keety!" He called.

"We're okay, Kurt!" Then Kitty saw what lay ahead of them. "But not for long…" She muttered miserably.

"What? What is-" Remy stopped when he saw the rapid that lay ahead of them. They all looked rough, violent and each about the size of a miniature waterfall. Remy and Kitty both braced themselves for the gauntlet that they were about to endure.

The water did not bother Matilda much. That was because she going down the river in a kayak. It appeared to be an invisible kayak.

"WHOA!" She screamed as conquered another rapid. "WOO-HOO!" She shouted gleefully as she went over one, two, three in a row. "Life's as extreme as you want to make it!" She shouted laughing as she kept up with her subjects. She paddled to see Kitty go over a rapid and pull herself up through the white foamy water. "Wow! Look at the cat go over that sucker like a pro! Talk about badass!"

Matilda peered on and tried to keep up with the river. "Yeah, go Roguey! That's how it's done! Oooh, that one looked like it hurt. I hope Kurt's okay! Oops, rough spot!" Matilda steered her small kayak through the violent foamy water and dodged a few rocks that Kurt had unfortunately hit a few moments before.

It seemed longer to the four people _not_ in the safety of a kayak, but it was only a few moments before the rapids leveled and the water became calm. With an arm wrapped around Kitty's waist, Remy swam over to where Rogue and Kurt were floating along.

"Are ya'll okay!" Rogue asked, once they were all four aligned with one another.

"Oui, 'm okay."

"Keety!"

"I'm all right Kurt!"

Kitty and Rogue hooked elbows with each other, and Kitty anchored Kurt to her side as Rogue did the same to Remy.

"Chaton, why did y' tell m' not t' swim?"

"Because the flow of the water would only knock you over and you would drown instantly."

"Oh." Remy wiped some water from his face. "Merci."

"Kurt, get us out of here." Rogue said, looking at her blue brother.

"I have been looking Rogue. It's more difficult than you realize."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked, looking scared again.

"I mean that I cannot just port us back to vhere ve vere; I can't do that kind of distance vith three other people. And I haven't seen anything suitable to teleport to around here."

"So basically we have to float along with the river until you find a spot?" Rogue demanded, but Matilda gave her an unheard answer.

"Actually you won't be floating much longer."

Remy noticed a small tree branch floating alongside them. He could not help but wonder why that stick seemed to be going faster than them. It then occurred to him that the overall speed of the current was becoming more fast. His gut telling him to expect the worst, he narrowed his demon eyes at the distance in front of his companions and himself. His worst fear was confirmed.

"Don't think we gonna have dat kind of time."

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked, the nervousness evident in her voice.

"Well, we about t' go over a huge waterfall, dat's all."

Remarkably, the four of them said nothing. Their eyes got noticeably wider. In the distance they could hear the gallons of water hitting the bottom.

Kitty whimpered; Kurt pulled her tighter to himself. Rogue's breathing increased substantially and Remy pulled her closer. The edge of the water was almost upon them when all four of them clenched their eyes shut and began to pray.

"Ooh… this looks so totally wicked!" Matilda said as she came closer to the waterfall. She teleported to be right with her four subjects, except she was dressed in jean shorts, a blue shirt, and another parachute pack. As the kids went over the waterfall, she did as well, except she got into a freefall position. "BOOM SHAK-A-LAKA LAKA!" She watched as the four of them became immersed in the heavy white foamy drops of water as they began to fall… and fall… and fall some more. They were about midway down when Matilda pulled her rip-chord and released her parachute. She saw the forms of the four kids fade in and out as they plummeted towards the bottom.

Kitty and Kurt did their best. Really they did. Kurt teleported Remy a few feet with each drop to make their one big drop a bunch of smaller ones. Kitty made both she and Rogue intangible so neither girl would be hurt by the rocky wall beneath the falling water or the rocks at the bottom. But in the end… they all still ended up submerged beneath the water.

Rogue flailed about before the water calmed somewhat. She swam frantically to reach the surface. Upon breaking the top of the first calm water they had yet encountered, she gasped frantically for a few moments before looking around. "Remy! Kurt! Kitty! Where are ya'll!"

A second later, an auburn colored head popped up. Remy swept the wet hairs out of his eyes before glancing at Rogue. "Y' okay?"

"Ah'm fine! Where's Kurt and Kitty?" A blue head emerged half a second later with a big old grin on his face.

"That vas awesome! Can ve do it again?"

"NO!" Both Rogue and Remy shouted in unison.

Kurt's grin faded when he noticed they were one head shy. "Vhere's Keety?"

They waited a second. Then another. And another. No Kitty. "Keety!" Kurt shouted.

"Kitty!" Rogue chorused.

"Chaton!" Remy bellowed.

"Oh, she's fine. She's just…" Matilda sat on the bank of the calm stream they were all wading in. She was fully dry, wearing her dress and watching the scene unfold. She scrunched her eyebrows when Kitty's presence remained lacking. "Where is Kitty?"

When Kitty still did not appear, the three gave each other a knowing look before they dived under the surface of the water again. Matilda looked a little sheepish after she watched them vanish. "Hmm… this could be problematic." She snapped her fingers, and stood in miniature scuba gear all her size. "Time to take matters into my own hands. Dive Captain!" And with that, she dived into the water.

Matilda was the first to find Kitty. The poor girl was floating lifelessly in the deepest, darkest part of the stream. Matilda swam under Kitty's body and pushed her upwards until she saw a blue three-fingered hand connect with the back of Kitty's shirt and jacket. She reappeared at the bank, dry as a desert, and watched for her four subjects to reappear.

Kurt gasped for breath as he began to walk quickly towards the closest bank. He was carrying Kitty, who was draped over his arms as limp and lifeless as a rag-doll. Remy and Rogue kept up with him as he set Kitty on the ground and felt her neck for a pulse.

"Oh mein gott. She's not breathing! Rogue, begin chest compressions now!"

Rogue did not need telling twice. She began pumping both her gloved hands on Kitty's chest, while Kurt held the unconscious girl's nose shut as he began breathing into her mouth. Remy looked on, unsure if he could even do anything.

"She'll… she'll be okay. Really." Matilda said, looking more uncertain than she wanted to. "She'll be fine. Just… fine…" Matilda trailed off when she noticed the canopy of trees that enshrouded the group. The leaves of the trees were fast fading from their rich green to a vibrant red to a golden yellow and finally to a light brown. Almost all at once, the leaves dried and slowly fell from their branches until all the trees were naked and jagged. She noticed the grass go from its intense green to dry gold and finally shrivel into nothingness leaving the ground black. The water in the stream was rapidly becoming frozen solid. The sky's blue was disappearing beneath black storm clouds. The four kids seemed not to have noticed any of the changes in the atmosphere. A person who could see what Matilda was seeing would say that winter had come early that year but Matilda knew better. She knew… that _death_ was coming. "This… is not good. Only one thing to do."

Kitty was cold. Colder than she could ever remember being. She thought that it was odd for it to be freezing cold in the middle of June. She shivered slightly as she let out an icy breath before opening her eyes slowly. She turned her head to look around. She was entirely alone in a desolate place where it seemed winter never ended. She sat up and searched for any sign of her friends. All she saw was a black hooded figure coming towards her. "Katherine Pryde… it is… your time." The booming voice said slowly. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized what this all meant.

"Oh God… I'm dead!"

"It is true." The voice boomed once more. "Come. All questions will be answered once we cross the river Styx."

"Oh God… Am I going to Heaven? I can't be dead yet. There's still so much I haven't done with my life!" Kitty unwillingly walked alongside Death, coming closer to a dark river. "I have overdue library books! Oh… my poor mother! And Kurt… oh God, I never got to tell him how much I love him! Well, I sort of did that one time during that whole thing with his dad, but he wasn't really himself so I don't think he heard me-"+

"Wait, wait, back up a sec." Kitty was shocked that the booming deep voice had vanished, replaced by a slightly anal retentive sounding, nasally voice. "You say you're suffering from an unrequited love?"

"Well, I don't know if it's unrequited exactly. I'm not really sure what we are anymore-"

"But you say that you are in love, yes?"

"Well… yeah, I am. At least, I think I am. I know I've never felt this way about anyone before and-"

"Oh crap." Death huffed and leaned tiredly on his scythe.

"What is it?"

"If you're in love and it's an unresolved issue, then it can only mean one thing-"

"STEVE!" A high-pitched squeal bellowed from behind them.

"Is that a school girl on helium?" Kitty asked Death.

"Close enough. That would be-"

"Steve, wait a minute!" Kitty turned around to see what looked like a small girl running towards them. When she finally caught up with them, Kitty was able to see the sweat stains in the pits of her white dress and her chin length dark hair sticking to the sides of her dewy face. The girl was breathing and panting deeply and rapidly; she held up a finger at the two of them and then leaned on her knees to catch her breath. "Steve…" She wheezed out between breaths. "…you… +pant+ can't… +huff+ take… +puff+ this… +whew+ one."

"Oh geez, Matilda." Death said, sounding more whiny then ever as he pulled back his hood. Kitty had been expecting a big scary skull with glowing red eyes and snakes coming out of his mouth. Instead she saw an older pale man, with pitch-black hair, dark beady eyes, and a chin the size of Montana. "I knew you had to be involved with this girl somehow. Just how did you get past Cerberus anyway?"

"Cerberus? Oh, you mean this three headed rat?" The girl inquired, reaching into one of her less visible pockets and pulling out what seemed to be a three headed Chihuahua. "Wasn't difficult. All I had to do was give it a chalupa and it was putty in my hands." The small dog's three heads were barking and biting madly at the air as the girl handed him back to Death, who looked supremely annoyed.

"He is a fierce, vicious guardian dog of the underworld!"

"No, the original Cerberus was a fierce, vicious guardian dog of the underworld. And he was a Doberman, Rottweiler, Mastiff mix! Now that was a guard dog!"

"Do you know how hard it is to find three headed dogs _anywhere_! I have to settle for what I can get!"

"Steve, as fun as it is to belittle you about your taste in pets, that's not what I'm here for." The girl's attention was moved to Kitty, who had remained unmoving throughout this conversation and appeared utterly confused. "You know the law Steve. As long as she is under my influence, she cannot be taken away by you."

"And you know my law, Matilda. No person can escape the clutches of Death without first defeating him in battle."

The girl inhaled and exhaled sounding quite frustrated, and then said, "Fine" with a huff.

Death stepped away from the two girls and folded his arms across his chest dramatically. "Very well then. Choose your weapon."

The girl scratched her head, thinking hard. "What did we do last time?"

"I believe it was the SNL Edition of Trivial Pursuit."

"Hmm." The girl thought a moment more and then shrugged. "I'm in a bit of a hurry. Let's just have it be Rock, Paper, Scissors, best of three is the winner." The two passed Kitty and stood facing one another… if you could call knees to face facing one another. The girl was much, much, _much_ shorter than the towering Death.

"Why is it always three? Can't it be best of five or best of seven or something?"

"Because you and I both know that the universe is centered around the structure of three. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit… Heaven, Hell, and Earth… Larry, Moe, and Curly! No matter what way you look at it, it all comes back to three!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Now let's get it on!" The two gave each other a brief glaring contest before raising their own right fists and holding their left hand out palms up. "One, two, three, shoot!" They both muttered together; the girl picked scissors and Death chose rock. "Ha!" He said happily. "One, two, three, shoot!" Death still chose rock, but this time the girl chose paper. "Dang it!" Death muttered to himself. It was the last round now; both were tied. The winner determined the fate of Kitty's life. She never expected that her life would be totally dependent on the outcome of a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Her eyes grew wide as she watch them raise their hands one last time. "One, two, three, shoot!" You know those corny sports movies that features the winning move going in slow motion? That's comparable to how Kitty felt as she watched their hands being lowered to their open palms. Death chose rock and the girl… chose paper! "GOSH DANG IT!" Death bellowed and threw his hands up exasperatedly.

"Yay! I win!"

"How do you always beat me!" Death asked, sounding pained.

"Because not even death can stop true love. It can only delay it for a while. Plus, you always choose rock." Death did not seem to have an answer for that, and watched as the girl walked over to Kitty with a pouting look on his face. The little girl grabbed Kitty's wrist and said, "Now let's go. You're scaring the love of your life to death…" Matilda thought about what she had said for a second before giggling slightly. "Heh… 'scaring the love of your life to death'. I made a pun."

The girl began to lead Kitty out of this dark place when Death's voice caused the girl to turn around briefly. "Uh Matilda… do you still want to… you know…"

"Do I still want to be your date to the company picnic next month?" The little girl asked with a sweet little smile.

"Well… yeah." Death said, looking a little sheepish and blushing.

"Of course I do Steve!"

"Cool." Death looked quite relieved. "Because I would impress about everyone in my department if I showed up with the hottest girl in the company!"

It was an odd thing to see such a young girl actually grin flirtatiously at the much older looking man. "Well that's me Stevey… I aim to please!" The girl turned back around and began to lead Kitty back away from the river.

"I am so confused." Kitty said, shaking her head dazedly.

"And no one will hold that against you dear." The little girl said, patting Kitty's hand. "It doesn't matter anyway. In a few moments, you will wake up and remember none of this…"

"Come on Keety." Kurt said urgently. He had taken over pumping Kitty's chest and breathing into her mouth, not because Rogue had given up but because Kurt had pushed her out of the way suddenly. "Come on Keety. Don't leave me. Stay vith me. Stay vith me."

Rogue was sitting beside Kitty's motionless form feeling useless. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and felt a few escape down her cheeks. Her best friend was dying… and she could not do a damn thing about it. Her eyes were shut, so she didn't see Remy pull the long sleeves of his trench coat over his hands. She didn't notice anything until she felt Remy gently place his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her forward slightly. She was not sure what he was doing until she felt him wipe the stains of water off her face. She opened her eyes and looked at him. Neither of them were sure how they ever could have been mad at each other. Rogue felt more tears stream down her face and leaned her head on Remy's shoulder. He smoothed his hands down her back and just let her stay there.

"Please Gott… please don't take her from me… I'm sorry… so sorry… please, it can't end like this… please come back to me Kätzchen." Kitty suddenly coughed up some water, which trailed out of her mouth and down her chin. She gulped for air for a few moments while Kurt and the others looked on with astonished joy. When she was breathing normally again, she laid flat on her back and looked up at three very wet people. However, her eyes were only set to one face… and his eyes in particular.

"Kurt?" She said sounding very weak. Kurt's eyes closed in relief and his mouth drew tight as though he was trying to hold something back. Suddenly, he was behind Kitty and pulling her back tight against his chest, with his arms wrapped around her shoulders lovingly.

Kurt hid his face in her shoulder and began to speak very muffled into the strip of exposed skin that was between her neck and her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Kätzchen… so, so sorry…"

Kitty closed her eyes at his words and smiled slightly. She ran her hand over Kurt's arm gently and said, "It's okay Kurt. I'm sorry too."

Remy looked down at Rogue, who had not moved from her spot on his shoulder. She looked back at him, but did not move away. He looked down and then back at her quickly and said, "Y' know… Rogue, 'm… well-"

Rogue put two gloved fingertips to his lips. "It's okay Remy. Meh too." Rogue moved her hand and pressed it against Remy's cheek. They smiled at each other as Remy reached for Rogue's hand and held it in his own for a few moments.

Kitty chuckled slightly. "I can't remember the last time that I lost two lives in one day." The others laughed weakly, not because it was not funny, but because they were all kind of tired from all the excitement that they had just experienced. Kurt lightly kissed the top of Kitty's wet scalp and Kitty settled back in his arms with a smile on her face. For the moment, none of them cared about the earlier hostility and were content just to be.

From afar, Matilda sighed happily and dreamily. "Peace is restored." She shook her head with a smile. "Highly dangerous life or death situations never cease to amaze me. They accomplish so much at once! The kids are separated, together, and getting along again. Operation: Deliverance is now complete and was a total success!" Matilda rubbed her hands together evilly and cackled maniacally. "Without any interference from unexpected variables… the real work can begin."

Kitty was simply enjoying the feeling of being in Kurt's arms; all was right in the universe once more. She smiled and opened her eyes. Her smile quickly faded when she got a good look at where they were. Where they were located looked very non-threatening but… what bothered her is that she had never seen this place before. "Guys?" Kitty said, weakly looking up and all around her. All her comrades looked at her expectantly. "Where are we?"


	6. Chapter Five: Why Can't I Vol 1

Chapter Five: Why Can't I? (Vol. 1)

"Now where do I begin?" Matilda asked herself, sounding puzzled. She had chosen the tallest tree in the area and was sitting in one of the higher branches, looking down as the four young people collected themselves and looked around. "I've been focusing so hard on getting them alone that I've lost track of getting them together. I feel like a kid that's been given a whole Toys R' Us to play in… he's riding high, but he needs to figure out where to begin!" Matilda slumped slightly, with her elbow propped on her knee and her chin resting in her palm. She furrowed her brow and frowned as she pondered and pondered… until her ponderer was sore.

"Well…" She finally said. "I guess the only thing to do is to let _them_ make the first move. After all, they won't be standing around down there forever. After they decide what they want to do, I'll just go with their flow."

At that exact moment, a tawny brown squirrel came scurrying along Matilda's branch and paused in front of her to enjoy an acorn. Matilda smiled at the animal and tipped her imaginary hat at it. "Good day my little squirrelly friend. This wouldn't be your tree, would it?" The squirrel made some animated motions that Matilda was nodding earnestly at, seeming to understand fully what was being said. "So what's the word around the forest, huh? Give me the skinny."

The little squirrel began to brush its tail back towards the direction of the waterfall. "Your cousin is expecting, there's been a lack of the tall, pink, intruders since the last round moon, and… your aunt said that there's a tall hairy creature that's not a bear but he brings with him several smaller pink creatures going up the north mountain… oh, that must be Logan and the other kids. I had almost forgotten about them with all of the excitement."

Matilda chewed on the inside of her cheek and arched one of her eyebrows. "The kids may be a good distance away from the Hairy Man and Wiley, but if he starts to worry, then what's to stop him from coming to look for my four subjects?" Matilda stroked her chin with her thumb and forefinger in thought. "Hmm… this is quite a predicament. If I keep his mind off of Rogue, Remy, Kurt, and Kitty for at least the remainder of the day that ought to put enough distance between them so that even if Logan were to try and look for them, he would come up dry. I guess that my first order of business for today should be to distract Logan from the whole picture." Matilda pressed two fingers to her puckered lips and then the tips of those digits to the top of the squirrel's head. "My thanks go out to you, my little woodland comrade. Hey to the wife and kids!" And before the leaves could sway in the wind, Matilda was gone from her spot.

XXX

"Grr…" Logan growled, with his eye slightly twitching. They were still a ways from the summit, but it seemed like thousands of miles to Logan. See, there was this annoying little bug that kept buzzing around him making these obnoxious sounds.

"The Worst Case Scenario Woodland Survival Guide says that it's a bad idea to play dead if a bear is about to attack. Do you think that there are bears in this park? Do you think one of them is named Yogi? And if so, do you think he would steal our food? Ooh, could we have a picnic later? Oh wait, that would just attract ants. Oh, that was a good movie! I think I preferred _A Bug's Life_. But the best Pixar movie was _The Incredibles_ by far. Do you think that that movie was inspired by mutants? A lot of movies are inspired by real life. They always put 'based on a true story' to boost ticket sales, but I would rather see a movie that has no basis in reality. Like _Jumangi_. You know, you don't see Robin Williams in anything much anymore and that's a shame, because he's great actor. You know who else you don't see? John Lithgow. He's an incredible actor! I mean, he can do drama _and _comedy brilliantly. If I got a job in Hollywood, I would give him his career back. Also, I would make a live action Jonny Quest movie. I love Jonny Quest. Cartoon Network is missing a huge opportunity in not coming up with a new Jonny Quest series. I always liked the dog the best. Do you think the professor would let me own a dog? I've always wanted a dog. I guess Rahne can count as a pet, but technically she's a wolf. Aren't wolves cool? I loved that movie, _Balto_. Hey, that was also based on a true story! Isn't that funny that we were just talking about movies based on true stories and I don't even intend to bring one up! Isn't that weird? Mr. Logan? Mr. Logan, did you know that your eye is twitching?"

"Death, death, death, death, death, death, death, death." Logan kept muttering under his breath as his right eye twitched with every second syllable that came out of Jamie's mouth. He was never a good babysitter. His mind was blocking out Jamie's words with another concern he had. Every instinct in his body was telling him that those two boys had somehow screwed up, and that he should go looking for the _four_ of them.

"Oh, that's not good. Their trail's not cold enough yet." Matilda said, as she hopped down beside Logan and looked around the mountain trail that they were still trekking. She then stepped back a ways and took a running start and leapt up, sticking her tiny fingers into Logan's temples. "Oh crap! He's wondering where Remy and Kurt are with the girls! He's tempted to forget the summit, turn around, and look for them! Despite the fact that I took all necessary precautions, I need him to be totally focused on staying with these little hyperactive pieces of oddness and reach that summit. But how do I…"

Matilda looked around and her eyes fell upon something that sat threateningly innocent in a tree. "Perfect. I really hate to deprive them of a home, but I can't pass up an opportunity like this." Her plan was to toss a rock into the bushes to draw Logan's attention, but he saved her a whole heap of trouble by pausing in his pace and stepping over to the side of the trail, conveniently right under the spot where she wanted him. He looked back down the trail with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Logan, don't worry about your kids. They can handle themselves just fine! Besides, you have much more important things to be concerned about…" On that note, Matilda pulled out a handmade slingshot, placed a small rock in the pouch, and pulled back and aimed high above her as she stuck out her little pink tongue as she concentrated. She released the band and watched the rock snap up towards the thin little twig that she was aiming at. Said twig broke against the pressure of the rock and what that tiny little twig was holding came tumbling down directly towards Logan's cranium. Logan gave an uncharacteristically feminine scream as Matilda said, "…like that beehive that just fell on your head."

Every kid's head immediately turned at the sound of the scream. What they saw was something that they had never believed they would ever witness… but it was something they would never, _ever_ forget: Mr. Logan, _the wolverine_, and his hairy self was flailing his arms about, running around the trail with a beehive completely lodged over his head. On instinct, they all took a giant step back away from Mr. Logan.

"Drop and roll Mr. Logan! Drop and roll!" Jamie called, using his hands to magnify his voice.

"You idiot! He's not on fire!" Amara said, shoving Jamie to the side.

"Duck!" X-23 said as she saw Mr. Logan's six pointy friends pop out and joined his hands in flailing about blindly. All the kids dropped to the dirt for fear of their lives.

"What do we do?" Alex asked the group, looking helplessly at the endangered Canuck.

"Is Mr. Logan allergic to bees?" Ray asked.

"Moron. His healing power keeps him from being allergic to _anything_." Roberto replied harshly. Logan let out a very painful sounding screech as he began slamming his head against a rock.

"Right now… he looks very allergic to pain." Warren said looking at the poor ruffian with wide eyes; everyone nodded solemnly.

"Ideas people?" Jubilee asked looking at all her compatriots.

"I got nothing" was the general response. Leave it to Tabitha to say, "Couldn't we just leave him like this?" All the incredulous stares didn't phase her… much. "What? His healing factor can handle a couple of beestings and we can take the rest of the day off and head back down the mountain." It is almost shameful to say that the kids were considering this as a viable option.

"Wait… if we leave him like this now, think of what he would do to us once he gets that beehive off… and knowing that we abandoned him like that?" Sam said, looking at his friends. All of them inadvertently shuddered.

"We can't just leave him like this anyway. But how the hell are we supposed to get rid of the bees without getting too close to them?" Rahne asked.

"Bobby…" Piotr said firmly commanding the attention of every young person there. "Freeze the bees." He said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh right!" Bobby said, shooting up and reaching out an arm towards Logan who was now thrashing about wildly on the ground. A stream of cold white air emitted from his hand towards the beehive, which was quickly becoming surrounded by a thick layer of ice. The buzzing from the hive had stopped and Mr. Logan was completely still. If it had not been for the steady rise and fall of his chest, the kids would have guessed he was dead. The students moved and clustered around the fallen man, whose limbs were outstretched like a spread eagle.

"Back away." Piotr commanded. All the students made a clear path for the mountain of a Russian to walk through. He kneeled behind the spot where Logan's scalp was supposed to be, changed just his right arm into metal, and brought down his fist to where the Canadian's forehead was supposed to be. From where the metal fist was, hairline cracks in the ice began to form before the ice block suddenly divided into two halves (hive included) and Logan's very bee-stung face was visible for all to see… it was _not_ a pretty sight.

"Oooooh." All the kids said unanimously with a wince. The furiously red shaded bumps raised from Logan's face all looked painful. He could not even open his eyes, as his lids were stung as well. So for just a few moments, all the students were still just watching him with his mouth hanging open until the stings began to go down and he was finally able to open his eyes.

Logan blinked a couple of times to clear his vision; he saw a bunch of concerned, young faces staring down at him. "Mr. Logan? Mr. Logan, are you all right?"

"What kind of question is that Rahne? A freakin' beehive just dropped on his head and the first question you ask is if he's 'all right'? Of course he's not all right, he's-"

"Hey, if I recall correctly Tabitha, it was your idea to just leave him here with the beehive on his skull! Now-"

"Shut. Up." Logan growled. All the students let out a small "eep" and stepped out of Logan's path as he stood and leant against a tree, rubbing the bridge of his nose between two fingers.

"Um… Mr. Logan, sir? Don't you think it would be a good idea to head back to the camp, considering what just happened to you-"

"No, Jamie. We are not going back to camp. We are going to keep going and we are going to reach the summit before noon." Logan growled.

"Are you sure you're up for that-" Jubilee did not even have time to finish her question when Logan rounded on all the students with his teeth bared in a snarl.

"I AM DEFINITELY UP FOR IT!!!!! You see my face?! It is the perfect picture of 'up for it'!!! If anyone asks if I'm okay again, I am going to strangle you with your intestines!!! We are going to reach that summit without any further interruptions!!!! UNDERSTOOD???!!!" Upon Logan's _very_ loud speech, some birds flew from their trees with a fair number of caws.

Ignoring the fact that Logan's face was presently covered with many little red spots where the poison of the bees had infected, all the students nodded enthusiastically with an exuberant "Yes sir!"

"GOOD! MOVE OUT!" All the students hastened up the trail, with much more enthusiasm than they had before. None of them saw a little girl giggling madly from her perch in a tree branch.

"Oh my God, that completed my life!" She sighed and wiped a tear from her eye. "I think it's fair to say that I've distracted him for the time being. I'll check on them again later… and maybe dole out a little more Logan funness. But right now, I better check up on the rogue and the rat and the cat and the demon." Before another bird could sound, Matilda was gone.

XXX

"What did you see Kurt?" Rogue asked her brother expectantly. The four of them were standing close to the calm stream that they had just crawled out of, shivering slightly with each gentle breeze, as they all were still quite wet from said river.

"Ve are about a mile avay from the vaterfall." Kurt said, after reappearing in a puff of smoke.

The other tree looked at him with wide eyes. "It really carried us that far?" Kitty asked, sounding both astonished and horrified.

"That's not good. If this little stream brought us that far away from the waterfall, think of how far the river took us from the mountain?" Rogue said, shaking her head dazedly.

The four of them stared at the ground as a very sickening thought passed through their minds and its shadow spread over them and remained like a sticky, disgusting phlegm. "We are like, so incredibly lost, aren't we?"

The others nodded ominously. Remy shook his head slowly and said, "Well dis is quite a fine mess dat w' gone an' got ourselves int', Ah'd say."

"Ve?" Kurt said, raising an eyebrow at Remy. "Ve? Nein, 've' haven't done anything. _You_, however, are the one who got us into this mess in the first place!"

Remy breathed in and his face tightened in frustration. "If y' accusin' Remy of anythin', _bleu boy_, please come over here and say it." He said, challengingly.

Kurt stalked over to stand right in front of Remy and jabbed one of his thick fingers into Remy's chest. "Vhat in the hell vere you thinking in jumping off of a cliff?! Vhat vere you hoping to accomplish, you stupid-"

"Hey, hey, if y' have a better suggestion 'bout how t' get away from a bear, by all means, let's hear it! If y' don't, den Ah suggest y' get de hell out o' m' face, unless y' want t' see dis through t' de-" Remy slightly pushed Kurt away, but Kurt pushed right back a little harder.

"Vhy do you not just accept the blame?! Or are you too arrogant to even think that once you could be wrong-"

"Hey, if y' wanna talk 'bout blame, why don't w' take a look at y'? If y' hadn't upset Chaton dere in de first place, w' would never even have ended up hangin' off de edge o' a cliff-"

"Guys, stop it!" Kitty suddenly screeched at the two boys, who promptly turned their attention to the girl. Her long hair was still wet and was presently swept away from her face. She had her arms clutched around herself protectively and possessed a mournful look in her eyes. "Please don't fight. If there's anyone who's responsible for all this, it's me." Her three compatriots looked at her inquiringly and she continued. "If I hadn't run off, we never would have-"

Her friends cut her off when they began to speak at once. "No, Kitty…" Rogue said gently, shaking her head.

"Keety, you did nothing…"

"Oui, none o' dis was y'r fault. After all, if little boy blue over dere hadn't made y' so sad at all, y' wouldn't have-"

"Vas?! How dare you try to make this whole thing mein fault?" Kurt yelled, turning his attention in full back to Remy.

"Ah told y' when y' first brought it up dat Chaton wouldn't say somethin' like dat 'bout y'! If y' had just heard de girl out before reachin' y' own conclusion, den-"

"Oh, oh this is rich. You are lecturing me on not hearing Keety out, and yet you vent and did the exact same thing to Rogue! Who are you to talk about vhat to do vhen-"

With each anger filled remark that the two boys made, their pushes had turned into gradually more aggressive shoves. The exchange finally reached a climax when:

"Ah really hope y' realize where y' bringin' dis little boy." Remy said, with his eyes narrowed. Considering Remy's eye color, this normally made mere human men soil their pants, but Kurt's response was instead to rush Remy and tackle him to the ground. Remy managed to roll the two of them over so he would be on top where he delivered a sharp punch across Kurt's face.

"What the hell are y'all doing?!" Rogue screeched. "We don't have time for this!"

"This is all my fault…" Kitty said miserably, hugging herself tightly.

"No, this is two boys OD'd on testosterone having fightin' over whose balls are bigger!" Rogue said angrily, with both her hands on her hips. Somehow the two boys had both wound up on the ground and were both trying to gain the upper hand on the other. "What the fuck is wrong with you two?! Now is not the time for this!"

Neither boy paid any heed to Rogue at the time, but in their defense, it is very difficult to pay attention to _anyone_ after you have been punched across the jaw (as Remy had just done to Kurt) or kneed in the gut (like what Kurt proceeded to do to Remy). Rogue dug her fingers into the damp hair on her scalp in frustration and growled. "Why are they doing this?! They need to stop and-"

"Rogue." Kitty stated, suddenly gripping Rogue's arm. "What do you do when two dogs are fighting?"

"What? What does that have to do with-"

"Think. When two dogs are fighting, how do you get them to stop?" Kitty asked again, the clarified light in her eyes evident.

"You… you spray them with water." Rogue suddenly understood what Kitty was implying when her eyes fell on the calm but _very_ cold river that the four of them had just crawled out of. The Southern girl nodded once at her friend and looked back at her brother and her friend, who were still fighting viciously. This time, the girls' reason for watching the fight was not in shock, but for determining their opportune moment. "Wait…" Rogue said to Kitty, watching the boys' feet like a hawk. The two young men were trying to push the other to the ground, locked in a vicious embrace, trying to make the other lose their footing. "Wait…" The southern beauty said again, getting a look in her eyes that was reminiscent of a lioness about to pounce on an antelope. Both of the boys were standing and pushing at the other's shoulders when Rogue shouted suddenly, "Now!"

Without a second thought, the two girls charged forward. With all the strength they had in their bodies they elbowed the two boys in their sides (Rogue to Remy, and Kitty to Kurt) hard enough that it disengaged their violent lock with each other and caused both boys to lose their balance. Both young men fell back first into the cold waters that they had crawled out of not fifteen minutes prior. After the initial shock to their systems had faded (neither were expecting to come back into contact with the chilled water again so soon), both were able to regain their footing and brought themselves to stand in the shallow waters. Remy and Kurt gasped as they broke the surface and both were about to ask quite angrily what that was for, but before they could one word out, Rogue had grasped them both by the cartilage of their ears and dragged them out of the water before throwing them both roughly to the ground.

"If y'all are going to act like stupid little boys, then you should expect to be treated like them too!" Rogue angrily put her hands on her hips as she looked down at the two young men who looked up at the southern girl utterly shocked. "Ah don't know what your problem is! We are lost out in the middle of the forest, Kitty almost _died _just a few minutes ago, there's a maniac on the loose, and y'all decide that this is a good time to have a damn pissing contest?! What is wrong with you?!"

Both boys looked down at the ground ashamedly when a small voice piped in from behind Rogue. "Rogue… don't… don't get mad at them. This really is all my fault and I accept the blame. If I hadn't run off like I did-"

"_If _you hadn't run off. _If _Ah hadn't gotten us lost. _If _Remy and Kurt had heard us out. _If _you hadn't fallen off a cliff. _If _we hadn't got pebbles in our shoes. _If _a freakin' bear hadn't knocked Remy and Ah off a mountain. If, if, if! _If_ a lot of things hadn't happened, you're right, we probably wouldn't be in this mess right now! But we are, and it's nobody's fault! It was a series of unfortunate events, one piling on top of the other! This is a blameless situation! If you really want to point fingers at somebody, blame the damn Chaos Theory! But we are getting absolutely _nothing_ accomplished by trying to figure out who's at fault here!" Rogue rounded on the two boys again. "Now Ah am only going to say this once so you sure as hell better listen now! You two are not going to speak to each other unless it's civil or it pertains to getting us out of here! No more fighting, no more being smartasses to each other, no more testosterone! If you two _ever_ try to fight again, Ah swear to God that Ah will drain you both, teleport meh and Kitty back to the camp, and leave your sorry asses to fend for yourselves! Do you both understand???!!!"

Both boys nodded very meekly at Rogue's bared teeth. It would take a blind, deaf, and dumb person to not notice that this girl was very dangerous right now. Rogue stood up straight with a nod and a huff, and looked. "Now the first thing we need to do is figure out where we are in relation to the camp. Kitty, do you… Kitty?" Rogue looked around the general area when she realized that Kitty was not there. "Kitty! Oh God, where has she gone off to now? Kitty!" Rogue began to walk up along the path of the river calling Kitty's name, but for the moment neither boy moved; they just stared dazedly at the space that Rogue had been occupying a moment earlier. Both were only able to comprehend one reasonable thought.

"_Damn_." Remy said, sounding thoroughly amazed.

"_Double_ damn." Kurt said, in a tone matching Remy's.

XXX

Kitty had just gone a little ways away from Rogue and the boys. She just needed a minute. She was walking along the river, twiddling a leaf she had found on the ground between her fingers. She saw a large rock facing the calm river and sat down upon the edge of it, with her feet propped on the rock and one arm draped over her legs and the other dangling over the water. She looked down into the calm waters at her own reflection. She looked the same, although a slightly more wet version. A person would never know that she had almost died just a matter of minutes ago. Did her skin look more pale than usual? She let the leaf slip from her fingers into the water. She watched the little green leaf make ripples in the once calm water. One ring becoming larger and larger than its brothers. Her blue eyes gazed upon her friend's distorted reflection appearing in the rings of water.

"Hey." Rogue said, as she dropped down beside Kitty, wrapping her arms around her knees. Kitty glanced in her direction to acknowledge her arrival somewhat. Rogue thought about saying something, but the only things she could think of all sounded stupid so she chose to stay quiet. She glanced sideways at Kitty and saw her friend's heart-stopping blue eyes look up and out at the scene surrounding them.

"It is pretty out here, isn't it?" Rogue nodded slightly as she herself took in all the lush, moist looking shades of greens and browns and blues. "It's kind of hard to believe that… that this place almost killed me a few minutes ago."

Rogue sighed realizing exactly what was on Kitty's mind. "Kitty, Ah'm sorry if Ah seemed insensitive about what happened to you when Ah was yelling at them, but Ah needed to get their attention."

"No need to apologize. It's like you said, it's nobody's fault." Kitty smiled slightly at Rogue, but then went back to being neutral as she gazed across the river. "I just… I just can't believe how close it came for me today."

"You scared us pretty good. Ah'm not sure what we would have done if we had lost you. Ah thought that if anything had happened to you, Kurt was posing to drown himself." Rogue said, chuckling a bit, trying to make Kitty smile; no such luck.

"Kurt… if he hadn't been there today… I would have died for sure… two times." Kitty shook her head. "He saved my life twice in one day… that's got to be a record."

"We'd all do the same thing Kitty. You know that."

"I know… you guys _have _done that for me. More than once. Every time I've gotten into trouble. Every time I've…" Kitty didn't finish her sentence on account of she was choking back a sob. Rogue looked at her friend with her full attention now realizing just how upset Kitty really was. "Every time I've gotten my sorry ass into trouble, I can always count on the X-Men to come save me." She said this so miserably that it suddenly occurred to Rogue that Kitty had been thinking about this for some time now.

"Kitty?"

"Why am I so weak Rogue?" She asked her looking her in the eye. Rogue was astonished by the amount of tears that had collected in Kitty's eyes so quickly and by the rivers that they formed running down her face. "Why do I rely on everybody else to save me? Why can't I just save myself for once?"

"You have saved yourself Kitty. You just-"

"Today, Kurt saved me from death twice. During the whole thing with Apocalypse, I get knocked out, and a fucking member of the _Brotherhood_ comes to my rescue! Why am I not strong? Why can't I save myself just one time? When can I prove that this team needs me?"

"Kitty, the team does need you. You've helped out more than once. You're the smartest person at the Institute. You're just strong in different ways Kitty. You-"

"Yeah, right." Kitty in a whisper, though the bitterness was very evident. "You wouldn't understand. You've always been strong. You've saved the world even… just by being who you are." Kitty looked back out toward the water and a torrent flood of tears gushed from her eyes and down her cheeks so greatly that she was barely able to speak. "What happens when I get into trouble and… and nobody's there? Am I going to be able to save myself… or is that the day I'm really going to die?" That's when Kitty lost it and hid her face in her hands and dropped her upper body into her lap. Her body was wracked with each frequent sob.

Rogue looked sympathetically at her friend. What could she say to her? Really… she could do nothing at all, other than let her get it all out. Rogue's lips parted slightly but she closed them quickly as she pondered whether it would be wise to at least pat her on the back. She did not have a chance to think about it further, as she felt the presence of someone watching them both. Rogue turned her head and saw Kurt and Remy standing a distance away watching the two girls. Rogue locked eyes with both boys; Remy was also looking sympathetically at Kitty, but Kurt looked downright agonized. Kitty's voice brought Rogue's attention. "I'm wasting time, aren't I?"

"Don't talk like that. We have all the time in the world." Rogue smiled slightly at Kitty, and was relieved when Kitty allowed her own slight smile to grace her lips briefly.

"I'm so embarrassed." She whispered, as she looked at the bottom of the rock and hastily wiped the tears from her face.

"Hey, Ah would be acting the same way if Ah had almost drowned."

Kitty snuffled and turned her head on her lap to look at Rogue. Her eyes made a motion behind them. "Are they both there?"

So she could feel them too. Rogue nodded and looked at the boys again. She jerked her head to the side and Remy began to walk towards them but Kurt ported to be right at Kitty's side. She turned her head, which still rested on its side on her own lap with her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, to look at him. He smiled slightly at her and reached forward to clasp her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Gently he raised her face until she was sitting up straight once more and looking him in the eye. She snuffled as he began to wipe away the streaks of tears that had stained her face with his thumb. She shut her eyes and subconsciously raised her hands and gently placed them both around the wrist that connected to his hand that was touching her face.

Remy had sat down at Rogue's other side and watched her watch the scene that was taking place between her brother and her best friend. Her wet hair was swept back away from her face; the contrast between the white and the brown even more stark now that there was water in it making it reflect the light of the sun even more. Her pale skin was dewy from the water that was had not yet evaporated. The water from the river was reflecting the rays of the sun into her green eyes and made them look all the vibrant. She was beautiful.

Kurt broke the heavy silence that had encompassed all four of them by saying to Kitty, "You're shaking like a leaf, Kätzchen." He looked at her concernedly as he took in her small, trembling form.

Kitty looked a little defensive and then said, "Well so are you!"

Kurt looked down at himself, and discovered (looking quite surprised) that he was, indeed, shivering as well. Upon inspection of her own and Remy's body, Rogue was surprised to discover that both of them were trembling. "Why…" She began to ask.

"'M not surprised. Dat water _was_ freezin'." Remy said, rubbing his arms involuntarily.

"Oh scheiße!" Kurt declared, standing up suddenly and walking off the rock, removing his black duster as he walked. His three compatriots looked at him curiously as he pulled his "Vote for Pedro" shirt off over his head, tossed it to the ground, and began to work at the belt holding up his khaki cargo pants. Kurt looked at the three young ones still sitting on the rock with slightly wider eyes (hey, you would be surprised as well if a blue furry elf was suddenly standing shirtless in front of you). "Vell, vhat are you vaiting for? Strip!"

None of them said anything. What could you say after a blue, furry, shirtless elf tells you to take off your clothes? Remy was the first one to recover. "… Um… why?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, and let out an exasperated sigh. "Ve have to take off our clothes and dry off or else ve are going to freeze to death." Kurt let his cargo pants drop to the ground and was standing in nothing but his tight, navy blue boxer briefs. "Do you vant to catch hypothermia?"

"… Non." Remy replied, as he stepped off the rock himself and slipped his trench coat off his arms and pulled off his black shirt as he toed off his Doc Martin shoes and socks. He was in the process of unbuckling his own belt when he noticed that neither girl had moved from their spot and were watching the two boys, looking extremely anxious. "Enjoyin' de show? Y' two need t' get undressed y'rselves."

"Um… can Ah just… choose death?" Rogue said, darting her eyes around to look at everything except the two boys.

Kurt dropped his arms to his sides and looked frustrated. "Now is not the time to be modest." He said, trying his best to look serious, which was more difficult than usual, on account of he was standing in nothing but his underwear.

"Oui, don't make m' come over dere and rip y'r clothes m'self." Remy said, without actually giving much thought to what he was saying. After thinking about it for a second Remy realized that, _Hell… I'd probably enjoy that_. He grinned mysteriously, but nobody asked what for.

"It's not about modesty!" Rogue replied defensively, but then she gave some actual thought to the situation. "Okay, it's a lot about modesty."

Pulling off his jeans, left in nothing but his tight black boxer-briefs, Remy said, "It's not like y're gettin' naked. Y' can just stay in y'r underwear. It covers just about as much as a bikini dat y' wear at de beach."

"Sadly, it's the underwear that's the problem." Kitty audibly mumbled looking at her feet.

Remy and Kurt both looked at the girls curiously. Kurt put his three fingered hands on his narrow hips, raised a blue eyebrow, and asked, "Okay, vhat is it?"

Both girls were standing on the rock, Rogue was rubbing her neck uncomfortably and Kitty was twirling a lock of her hair nervously around her index finger, and both of them were looking everywhere else except the line of the sight where the boys were standing. At about the same time they both mumbled, "Mph mmmnnng n nnmmh."

"Quoi?"

"Vas?"

Before leaving the rock, both girls turned their heads and looked around suspiciously. Then the walked down to the soil covered ground and stood in front of their respective boys before saying sharply through gritted teeth, "Mmm neeeringg na nong."

"What?" Remy asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Vhat?" Kurt asked, in a similar vein.

Rogue closed her eyes in frustration, but Kitty's got wider in disbelief that Kurt was not catching on. It was the last straw for both of the girls. So loudly that more than a few birds abandoned their nests, they shouted, "I'M WEARING A THONG!!!"

Needless to say, both boys looked a little shocked at this news. Remy's eyes grew substantially wider and the apples of Kurt's cheeks darkened substantially. "Oh." Remy said, about to shove his hands into his pockets. Then he remembered his state of "no pockets" and just rubbed his hand through the short hairs on his neck. "Um… y' know… it's not like y'r showin' de most risqué of de body parts. An'… it wouldn't be like dat y'r showin' us anythin' w' haven't seen before. Right Bleu? Bleu?" Remy turned and look at Kurt, whose whole face had turned an impressive shade of purple. His golden eyes were planted, staring at nothing but his feet. Obviously, he was having a difficult time thinking beyond the blush. Kitty was not fairing much better, as she had her own eyes fixed on her feet, and was constantly re-tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Realizing that they would be receiving no input from those two, Rogue turned back to Remy and said, "Anyway, the water didn't seem that cold to meh, anyway." At this point, Rogue involuntarily shuddered. Remy looked at her with a skeptical eyebrow and she tried to chuckle nonchalantly. He did not bite.

"Rogue, we just survived bein' mauled by a bear, jumpin' off a cliff, goin' down a rapid river, bein' hurled down a waterfall, an' Chaton dere nearly drowned. Now, y're goin' t' let a little thing like showin' y'r ass t' a couple o' boys kill y'?"

Rogue glared at Remy for his unmerciful logic. Kitty whimpered slightly. Rogue continued to glare. Without another word, Rogue harshly pulled off her soaked denim jacket and threw it across the ground. She then quickly pulled off her black tank top and tossed it at Remy's head where it covered his face before he could say otherwise. With a miserable sigh heaving from her chest, Kitty unzipped her hoodie and pulled it from her arms. After pulling off her white shirt, she shook out her wet brown hair and began to work on her jeans.

Remy pulled the wet shirt from his face and wiped off the moisture off his face just in time to see a shirtless Rogue bent over untying the laces of her own Doc Martins. With the removal of her boots and socks, Rogue began to work on the button of her jeans. Kitty toed off her shoes as she wriggled out of her wet jeans. Just as Rogue had tossed her jeans off in the direction of her jacket, Kitty was standing in nothing but her undergarments. Then girls both looked at one another to confirm that they were indeed as scantily clad as the other. "There. That wasn't so bad." Kitty said, unconsciously folding her hands in front of her exposed stomach.

"Like… ripping off a band-aid. Get it done quick." Rogue agreed, holding her hands behind her back.

For a minute (exactly) the four neither said nor did anything. They looked at each other expressionlessly. Kitty shifted from one leg to the other; Kurt's tail swished back and forth anxiously; Rogue chewed the inside of her cheek; Remy scratched the back of his head. Kitty looked at each of her compatriots without turning her head before she said, "We're- we're all standing half-naked in a forest together, aren't we?"

"Yeah."

"Ja."

"Oui."

"That's what I thought." Kitty said, discreetly covering her bottom with her hands.

Rogue sighed and looked around at the forestry before saying, "We should probably try and get our clothes dry quick, wouldn't y'all say?" The agreement was unanimous, and so the four teens began to collect their various articles of clothing. None of them noticed someone appear suddenly among the cluster of trees that surrounded them.

"Well as much fun as that was, I really have to get back on track with getting these kids to jump each others' bones-" Matilda stopped short as she turned and was greeted by the sight of four well-toned, underwear-clad butts. She blinked once… twice… three times. About a million different thoughts were going through Matilda's tiny little head in all directions, but she could only vocalize one at the moment. "The things I miss." She huffed, put her hands on her hips, and a bemused smile began to play at her lips. "How dare they have a lingerie party and not invite me? Oh well, that can easily be fixed." With a quick turn, Matilda was clad in a purple, lacy bra, panty, garter belt, and stocking set, complete with purple, furry, heeled shoes. Of course, the bra was fitted to her flat chest and the panties covered all of her tush and the shoes were mostly flat. She looked down at herself and giggled a little before walking over to be closer to the four young people, singing "Giuchie, Giuchie, ya ya dada" as she went.

Rogue and Kitty were standing next to the river, wringing out their jackets. Remy and Kurt stood on either side of them, Remy shaking out his coat and Kurt wringing his coat into a tight coil. Both young men were having a time ignoring the fact that they were standing in the presence of two incredibly attractive girls who were presently in nothing but their revealing undergarments. The blue one managed to occupy his thoughts with the memory of the freezing cold water of the river, which pretty much took care of his arousal. But Remy… well, Remy was a special case.

_Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, just once._ Shrewdly, Remy cast his eyes down and to the side, and quickly memorized everything he saw. Rogue technically was not wearing a thong; she had on a pair of black, lace boy-shorts that did reveal some definite cheekage to Remy's greedy eyes. Her bum was perfectly round, pert, toned, and she definitely had "back". Her legs were long, her thighs were round, and her skin was devoid of flaws. The pale expanses of her skin looked gorgeous in contrast to the black lace underwear. Her back was softly toned and looked like it would be so soft to touch. Her stomach did not look muscular, but soft and smooth and toned with a cute inward bellybutton that he desperately wanted to dip his tongue into. Remy had to quickly look away when his eyes stumbled upon her bosom; he knew that if he looked at that sight for longer than a second, he would never be able to look away. Rogue's breasts were encased in a black lace bra that obviously came from Victoria's Secret. The straps sat perfectly atop her shoulders, and led down to the curves of the cups that covered her chest. The cups curved suggestively over the soft flesh of her breasts. The bra pushed both her breasts together in a way that created a deep cavern of cleavage that seemed endless. Right in the center of the bra where the two cups were joined, were a few small, pearl-like beads that shaped a small flower. God help him, he wanted to rip her bra off where that little pearl flower was, bury his face between her breasts, and fall asleep there.

"You gonna be able to clean your tongue off the ground Cajun?" Rogue's sexy little drawl stretched over the empty air, shocking Remy to lock eyes with her.

"Quoi?"

"You got a little somethin' right here." Rogue replied, making a motion of wiping her chin with her hand.

Remy quickly rubbed the palm of his hand over his chin effectively cleaning away the drool that he did not realize had been collecting there. He gave a nervous chuckle and grin before distracting himself with shaking his jeans out of any moisture they may have possessed. He allowed himself one more shrewd glance in her direction with an eyebrow raised before he said, "Remy got t' ask, why in de hell did y' decide to wear such… _uncomfortable_ undergarments when y' knew dat y'd b' spendin' a while in de middle o' de woods?"

"It's not like Ah _wanted_ to wear this… _garb_." Rogue said defensively, casting a quick look down at her figure. "Someone broke into our tent while we weren't in there and stole most of our stuff. These were the only pairs of underwear that were left."

Remy looked confused as he furrowed his brow and cast his eyes down to his feet and looked back up at Rogue, still appearing confused. "But who would do somethin' like dat?"

Nearby, Matilda whistled innocently and made an effort not to look at the massive laundry bag that was much taller than she that stood next to her.

Kurt, in the meantime, was imagining the many things that took him to the place furthest from beautiful, thong clad, ballerinas. _Jesus Christ nailed to a cross… Tolanksky having intimate relations with the Blob… Scott yanking my tail-_ Kurt's thoughts stopped quite suddenly when he felt something soft and silk-like brush against the downy fur of his arm, followed by a flash of something pale pink that he viewed from the corner of his eye. Reflexively, he turned his head to follow his line of sight. His thoughts were first filled with regret for reacting such, but then he lost the capability to think.

Kitty had accidentally brushed up against Kurt's hard left bicep when she had stepped forward to wring out her shirt; Kurt had unintentionally, but not unwillingly caught a glimpse of how she appeared to look. She was a little too slender for her body, and could stand to gain a few pounds, but other than that…

Kurt once had a dream that he was falling through clouds from the starry night sky. He was clad in nothing more than bandages wrapped tightly yet loosely around his legs, which were covered by nothing more than a pair of pale blue short pants, that had once been long but had been torn repeatedly by his suffering. He was lacking cover over his torso, so his demon like appearance was naked to the Heavens. He knew what was happening to him; he was falling from Grace straight into the depths of Hell. He felt that he should cry, but could not find the strength within himself to do even that. Just when he believed that he would always be falling, night faded into day, something appeared in front of him, and shadowed the light of the sun in his eyes. He squinted his eyes as the shadow came closer to his falling blue form (It was massive enough to blot out the sun from his sight). Kurt scrutinized the shape of the figure, and thought for a moment that it was human… until he noticed the two great limbs coming from the figure's back. When he blinked the figure was in front of him, with the light of the sun reflecting behind her.

It was Kitty, but it could not have been… this creature in front of him… she was an angel… **literally**. Wrapped in sashes of white satin to cover only her more intimate attributes, they billowed behind her by the air rushing past them. The two great limbs on her back were a pair of gorgeous, white, feathered wings and atop her head was a halo of pale gold yellow. The expression on her face was so warm, serene, and calming. She was smiling at him as her hand reached for his. "It'll all be worth it…" She said to him; her voice was like the melody of church bells. "It'll be worth it in the end."

Kurt had never been more reminded of that dream than he had in this moment. There were no wings or halos of course, and scraps of strategically placed, white lace had replaced the sashes of satin. But still… he forgot that she was a mere mortal for a moment and truly believed she was an angel. Her hair was loose and tumbled down her shoulders and shimmered even more with the aid of the water and the sunlight. Her porcelain skin was glistening in the glow of daytime with the damp lace clinging suggestively to her petite form. Kitty was on the short side as far as height goes but somehow her legs looked long and svelte. Her thighs had a gentle round curve to them that gave her such a graceful shape. Her hips curved beautifully into the hourglass of her waist. Her abdomen was tight from all her years of dancing and her shoulders and back were straight with her good posture. Her arms were slender and long and led to her perfect tiny hands. Kurt honestly tried to avoid Kitty's more womanly parts, but his curiosity was won over by the allure of her lithe silhouette.

Kitty's precious, pert, porcelain mounds were covered by a flimsy white lace bra that clung most suggestively to her breasts by the moisture of the river water. Kurt's blush went from bright violet to royal purple when he noticed the two little points standing sharply out of the white lace. He could just barely make out the rosy pink areoles through the damp white. He averted his eyes downward, which may not have been the wisest choice, as his eyes met her smooth stomach, her tiny bellybutton, and the white lacy cup that joined her legs. Kurt just about had a heart attack when Kitty turned slightly without warning, and his eyes met a part of Kitty that he had _never_ seen before.

Kurt had never known the privilege of viewing Kitty naked, and he knew that right then would probably be his only chance. He had spent his life thanking God for many things, but this was the only time he would recall thanking God for the invention of thong underwear. Her bottom was pert, tight, and meant to be seen at all times. He noticed Kitty begin to turn to look at him, and he (most reluctantly) averted his eyes away from her lovely form.

"Kurt?" She said in a gentle, sweet, angel voice that could only come from her mouth. "Everything okay?"

"Ja. Just a little nippley- nippy out here. Gives mein fur a chill."

Kitty nodded, deciding to ignore his slip of the tongue, and looked towards the sky, her eyes seeking the sun. "I feel like it should be the mid-afternoon, but it's still really early out, huh?'

"We did get an early start after all." Rogue agreed. Glancing at her clothes that she had draped over her arms, she surveyed the area. "We need to find a sunny spot for these to dry all the way."

"Hmm…" Remy said, looking around. "Dat branch right dere looks as good a place as any." He motioned with a jerk of his head towards a thick tree branch that had grown relatively close to the ground.

Without much ritual, the four of them began to haphazardly place apart their various articles of clothing all over the chosen branch and part of the tree trunk. With their clothes evenly spread apart, the four of them stood in a row, contemplating the branch.

"So…" Kitty began. "Now what?"

None of them were able to come up with a good answer. After tapping her bare foot for a few moments, Rogue leant backwards against the closest tree and folded her arms across her chest. Remy ran his hand through his hair and shifted back and forth on his feet from his toes to his heels. Kurt had positioned himself on the tree and was clinging to it like a gargoyle. Kitty spotted a rock, dusted it off, repeatedly looking over her shoulder at the seat of the rock. Rogue raised an eyebrow at Kitty's meticulous paranoia before asking, "Kit, what are you doing?"

"Checking for ticks, leeches, and venomous spiders." Kitty replied, wincing as her bare bottom came into contact with the rocky surface.

"…" Was the general response.

Kitty looked at each of her friends' vacant faces before saying, "What? I don't know about you but I'd rather not die like that." Her companions still remained expressionless. "Oh please. You think I want my tombstone to read, 'Here lies Kitty Pryde, she died when a black widow bit her on the ass'?"

The party of four were silent for a moment. Kitty still had that defensive look on her face and her comrades were all three blank. At least, they _were_ until Kurt began to draw his lips in tightly. Then he shut his eyes tightly as a snort like sound came from his nose.

Kitty, Rogue, and Remy all looked at him curiously. It was not until his shoulders began to shake as his body convulsed with the chuckles that he tried to contain in his throat that they realized what he was doing.

"Kurt, this really isn't funny." Rogue scolded her brother.

Kurt tried desperately to nod, but all that accomplished was allow the laughter he had been trying to imprison out into the open. Kitty looked at her blue furry friend disbelievingly until she herself smiled slightly with a few chuckles of her own. When she and Kurt locked eyes with one another, their chuckles became loud guffaws.

Rogue looked incredulously from her brother to her best friend before looking at Remy. He too had begun to laugh slightly before his laughter matched Kitty and Kurt's. Rogue felt more than a little left out, since she could not figure out what the hell was so funny. So this is what it must feel like to be Scott, she thought.

"Y'all, this really isn't funny. Ah mean, we're stuck out her in the middle of the wilderness, no one knows we're even missing, there's a maniac on the loose, and to top it all off, we're standing here in nothing but our underwear waiting for our clothes to dry…" That's when Rogue took a step outside of her body to fully take in the picture that they created: they were four wet people standing around in the forest in their soggy undergarments.

…

And that's when Rogue began to laugh as well.

"Dis… really… idn't… funny." Remy struggled to get out.

"Ah… know." Rogue said through her laughter as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Oh… my… God… wouldn't we be…" Kitty interrupted herself with another bout of giggles. "Wouldn't this be the perfect Calvin Klein ad?"

Kurt immediately jumped on that bandwagon. He ported from his perch on the tree, struck a dramatic, model-esque pose, and said in a sultry voice, "Be surgically altered or be skinny. Just be."

This only resulted in a fresh wave of laughter. Remy leaned on the tree for support, Rogue clutched at her sides which were beginning to ache, and Kitty fell off her rock. Still (surprise, surprise) laughing, Kurt allowed his body to drop next to Kitty.

"Oh my God." Kitty breathed as their laughter finally died down. She turned her head to be able to look at her friend. Somehow, her head had ended up resting on Kurt's well-toned arm. After allowing the silence to linger in the air for a few moments, she asked him, "So how much time do you think that killed?"

Kurt shook his head, furrowed his brow in thought before saying, "Twenty… maybe thirty… _seconds_ at most." Kitty nodded, coming into a stage of acceptance.

"And _shockingly_ our clothes are not yet dry." Rogue added, as she sat down on the ground after feeling the leg of her jeans.

Remy smiled, took a seat close to Rogue and said, "So… who's up for charades?"

XXX

Forty-five minutes later…

"But why the ice, Kitty?"

"It seemed like the choice with less audacity." Kitty shrugged in reply.

"Okay, okay, I've got one." Kurt said, raising one thick finger. He had moved his head to be resting on Kitty's lap. "Vould you rather spend the day vatching _Le Divorce_ over and over…" He allowed a moment for his companions to grimace. "… or vould you rather spend the day vith Scott?"

There was silence as they all contemplated which was the lesser of the two evils. It was Remy who spoke first. "Y' be forgettin' de third choice, Bleu."

"Third choice? Vhat's the third choice?"

"Ritual suicide."

XXX

Thirty-two minutes later…

"Ah really was thinking that you'd say Inara, Remy."

"Y'd think dat, wouldn't y'? While she was de hottest character, she didn't have de best lines. Now Jayne, however, was de man."

"Ugh, Jayne annoyed meh."

"The best lines were from Mal anyway." Kitty chimed in.

"Oh by far." Kurt agreed.

"Okay, I have a question." Kitty sad. "Who is your favorite character on _Family Guy_, and it can't be anyone in the Griffen family, because everyone says Stewie."

"Remy knows his answer! It's got t' be Ollie Williams, even includin' de Griffens."

"Ollie is all right, but I think mein favorite character is Mayor Adam Vest." Kurt narrowed his eyes and said in a husky voice, "I love this job more than I love taffy. And I'm a man who enjoys his taffy." He then proceeded to impersonate some creepy chewing sounds.

Kitty giggled and said, "My fav, I think, is the guy with the fat donkey."

"Who?" Her friends echoed.

"You know, 'he's my only means of conveyance, but I guess I do spoil him." Kitty said with a lisp.

"Yeah, he's pretty good, but Ah think mah favorite, favorite, favorite character is Herbert the Old Pedophile."

"Oh my God, that guy is so nasty!" Kitty stated, giggling a little.

"He's hilarious though! 'Hey, muscley-arm paperboy, why the long face?'"

XXX

Forty-three minutes later…

The four had drifted into a comfortable silence. Kitty was massaging Kurt's head, which still rested on her lap. Rogue and Remy had begun a game in which the two of them were silently pulling a leaf back and forth from their own sides. Rogue finally managed to pull the leaf around to her opposite hip. "HA! It's on mah side now!"

That's when Remy suddenly reached over Rogue in a playful attempt to grab the leaf. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Remy miscalculated the amount of force his body possessed and in response Rogue fell onto her back, with Remy propped up on his arms leaning directly over her, his face not two inches from her face.

"Get a room!" Kitty yelled playfully.

Rogue glared at her friend and brother from under Remy's torso. After taking in Kitty stroking Kurt's hair, with his head still resting in her lap. "Same to y'all!"

Suddenly, all four of them were quickly reminded of their present state of undress… and of the lack of space between them. The silence had quickly gone from comfortable to thick. Kitty had become all too aware of the closeness of Kurt's face to her feminine parts. Kurt realized this as well when he turned his head and received an eyeful of Kitty's lace covered heat. Remy and Rogue were realizing their relative closeness when they both looked down in between the two of them. Miraculously, neither of them were making direct skin-to-skin contact. Remy could feel Rogue's gentle breath just barely brushing his neck. Remy looked back into Rogue's eyes and decided that he very much like her in this position. Her own gaze did not waver from his even though she could feel the color rising in her cheeks; she could not say that she hated this position either.

Rogue cleared her throat audibly; that seemed to break the spell that the four of them had been put under. Kurt raised himself off of Kitty's lap. Rogue carefully scooted herself out from under Remy. As he raised himself back into a sitting position, Remy noted that his hands had been gripping the ground into his fists and that he had not even noticed.

"Hey y'all, our clothes are dry." Rogue declared, once more feeling the leg of her jeans.

The four made their way back to the tree where they began to claim and collect their various articles of clothing.

Kurt pulled his "Vote For Pedro" shirt over his head, and then began to test his khaki cargo pants for dryness. He furrowed his brow when he became slightly perplexed upon feeling something in one of the pockets of said pants. Slipping one of his fingers inside said pocket, he felt something smooth and plastic like. His gold-yellow eyes became wider when he saw what was in his hand when he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Mein Gott. Oh mein Gott, oh mein Gott, oh mein Gott, oh mein Gott-"

"Kurt, what is it?" Kitty asked, while fastening her pants.

"The map! The map! I've got the map!"

"Map?!" Kitty exclaimed, rushing to Kurt's side.

"Map? Y'all have a map?"

"Oh, dat's right! De badger gave us one 'cause he no trust our sense o' direction."

"Well, that's an unfair accusation." Rogue said, rolling her eyes.

"Where does the map lead?" Kitty asked Kurt.

"Vell it doesn't lead to buried treasure Kätzchen, but it leads to something else just as good." Kurt said, grinning like a Cat Bus at the map. "He's even marked vhere our campsite is in the valley."

"Great. All we need to figure out now is which way is North."

"Believe Remy can help wit' dat Chaton." He said, reaching into one of his several trench coat pockets and pulling out a palm sized, gold colored compass.

"Great. Thanks Remy." Kitty said, taking the compass and looking at the map over Kurt's shoulder. Rogue, however, was preoccupied with giving Remy the most shocked expression that any human being was capable of achieving.

"What?" Remy asked, looking confused under her gaze.

"You leave your bo-staff back at the camp, but you remember to bring a compass?"

Remy sighed and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Y' go int' de woods, which do y' think will be mo' useful: a bo-staff or a compass?"

"Humph. Touché LeBeau."

"Guys, we know where we are now!" Kitty and Kurt had placed the map on the ground and were sitting around it, holding the compass close to it.

With all the excitement regarding the map, it would not surprise many to hear that they were drawing attention to themselves. There were no other people around the immediate area, of course, but there was a certain Love Spirit who was quite familiar with this particular foursome. Matilda had at first given their conversation rapt attention. Then she was quickly reminded how mundane teenage conversation could be. When they began to speak of who their favorite _Final Fantasy VII_ females were (Tifa, miraculously, won over Aerith), Matilda began to practice her yo-yo tricks. She did that for about as long as she could tolerate the accidental self-inflicted whacks to her head (about five minutes) before giving up and just playing _Tetris_ on her Gameboy.

"Yeah… yeah, that's it… yeah, who's the bitch now, huh?" She muttered to the little falling blocks. "Ooh yeah… I am awesome… I am the grand master of the universe-"

"Guys, we know where we are now!" She heard Kitty's voice shout. Those words caused Matilda to instantly perk up. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes grew substantially larger.

"When did they figure that out?" Matilda transported down to where they had crowded around the map. She kept a safe distance from the four and repeatedly chewed on her lower lip.

"Okay, here we are, about a mile from the waterfall, next to the river…" Kitty said, pointing to a spot on the map next to a small blue line.

"And there is the valley vhere our camp is." Kurt said, placing his finger on the small red "X" that Logan had marked.

"So dat right dere is de mountain we were on earlier." Remy said, pointing at the only mountain surrounding the valley that was located next to a river.

"All right, so that means that we are…" Rogue traced the river (which was much longer in length than the way it feels when you are going down it physically), over the waterfall and stopped when she met Kitty's finger at their current location.

The excitement they had all felt earlier faded when they realized just how far away from camp, their friends, and civilization they really were. Somehow, they had wound up at the farthest end of the valley that was _behind_ the mountain at the southern most point of their valley.

They were silent for a moment, allowing the information they had just learned to really, truly sink in.

"So… Ah guess we gotta go through a whole forest, up, over, and down a mountain, and through yet another forest before we're back at camp?" Rogue said, posing the option.

"No way. There's no way. Absolutely no possible way we can do that." Kitty said, sounding as though she was about to hyperventilate.

"Okay, ve are much farther from the camp than ve vould like to be. So… vhat _are_ our options?" Kurt shrugged.

"Mr. Logan says that if you ever get lost in a remote location, you are to stay put until help comes to you." Rogue recited.

"Remy also recall him tellin' us dat if w' can't rejoin de group, dat w' just find our own way back t' de camp."

"What are you sayin' Rem?" Rogue asked, raising both her eyebrows.

"Remy just sayin' he ain't too eager t' sit 'round here waitin' for de human bloodhound t' come get us while de mor' carnivorous animals take dere fill o' us."

"Predators won't be a problem…" Kitty said rather confidently, but then she look to Rogue and said in a meek voice, "Will they?"

Rogue look reluctant to answer her friend's question, but she answered, "The larger animals do tend to go where there's water, Kit."

Just as Kitty was beginning to look frightened, Kurt chimed in, "Then ve'll move avay from the river and remain in a spot more inland. I am vith Keety on this one; it vould be foolish to get back to camp. I say ve stay in one spot and vait for Logan to find us."

"Y'all be puttin' a lot o' hope on de Wolverine t' come t' our rescue." Remy said skeptically, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well duh. He can like track a flea on a dog if he really wanted to. He can find us, no problem." Kitty said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Um… actually-" Kurt began, looking a little uneasy.

"Actually what Kurt?" Rogue asked, looking wearily at her brother.

"Actually… I think Logan may have some trouble tracking us this time." He said, drawing his words out slowly, his eyes averting all three of his companions.

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked taking a step closer to Kurt.

"Vell… I noticed that all four of us vent a little off trail from the main path. Logan vould loose our trail all together vhen ve fell in the river."

"Okay, so we didn't leave a physical trail to trace. Logan can just smell us out to find us." Rogue shrugged.

"Um… that's kind of the other thing." Kurt began, suddenly quite fascinated with his feet.

"What other thing?" Rogue asked, her eyes growing rounder.

"There's another thing?" Kitty asked, sounding more than a little worried.

"Um… ve don't exactly smell like ourselves at the moment."

"What do you mean? Water doesn't smell." Rogue said knowingly.

"Vell vater does not, but a river does. Right ve smell more like mud and fish."

"I smell like a fish?!" Kitty gasped, before grabbing the neck of her own shirt, bringing it up to her nostrils and inhaling.

"Okay, so Logan finding us is unlikely. But he's not our only hope. There's… there's the Professor!" Rogue said hopefully.

"I thought of that already." Kitty said, looking disappointed. "I've been shouting to him mentally but for some reason, he's not responding."

"That's not possible; he has a range of fifty miles without Cerebro. He should be able to pick up on us no problem." Rogue said, shaking her head.

"Maybe if ve all tried at once." They all were silent as they mentally reached out to the professor. After forty-one seconds of being alone in their thoughts, they looked at each other confusedly.

"It's like he took the phone off the hook or something." Kitty said, shaking her head.

"Or something's blocking us from him." Kurt said, bringing his finger to his mouth in thought.

"Either way, Ah don't think the Professor will be the one to find us." Rogue said sadly.

"Dere be another problem we ain't even considerin'." Remy said, looking out over the river. Rogue looked at him meaningfully and he answered. "Logan told us dat if w' can't make it t' de summit dat we are t' find our way back t' camp. So if Remy were Logan, he would assume dat since we ain't at de summit, we must be at de camp."

"Oh my God… Logan's not even going to realize we're missing until-" Kitty began but Remy answered.

"Until he gets back t' camp much later t'day and realizes dat we ain't dere."

"But the Professor-" Kurt began.

"It'll be the same thing, Kurt. The Professor, Ms. Munroe, _and _Mr. McCoy all think that we're still hiking up the mountain with everybody else. They won't figure out we're gone until Logan comes back at the end of the day." Rogue finished.

"So it'll be a whole day before they even start looking for us." Kitty said despairingly.

"If y' ask m', dat's a long time for us t' be doin' somethin' a bit mor' productive den sittin' 'round waitin' fo' de grand rescue."

"Remy, going back on foot is not an option." Rogue said sternly. "There's got to be another way."

"What about the rangers? Don't they do a regular patrol of the forest?" Kitty said, looking towards the sky.

"Ja, they do, but I'm not sure they'll be patrolling this part of the forest." Kurt said, drawing attention to the map again. "Look a little closer at vhere ve are."

The four of them studied the map once more: the river, the forest they were presently lost in, and the mountain they had yet to climb all had a thick red line surrounding them. In the map key at the bottom right of the map, the caption next to the small example of the red line read "RESTRICTED TO ALL INCLUDING PARK PERSONNEL."

"…Merde." Remy said, after a moment.

"Ve are right vhere people have been disappearing." Kurt said, taking a look over his shoulder at the edge of the trees. Suddenly this forest surrounding the river was not quite as pretty as it was when they first stumbled here. They all noticed for the first time how dark the trees made this place. How each sway of the wind sounded like a footstep taken towards them. They were unable to even see the sun from this place.

"Okay, all the more reason we shouldn't go into the woods anymore than we have to." Kitty said reasonably.

"All de more reason we shouldn't be sittin' here waitin' for some… _whatever_ t' come along an' make us one o' dose 'disappeared'."

"All right, listen." Rogue said firmly. "We're not gettin' rescued today, we may as well accept that. But if we try and find our way back ourselves, we could get even more lost or even separated. But we don't have supplies or shelter to where we could last out here more than a couple of days. So the only logical thing for us to do right now would be to start the largest signal fire possible and wait it out until someone finds us."

"A fire in a national park? Is that legal?" Kitty asked.

"Ah think these are _really_ exceptional circumstances Kitty." Rogue replied dryly.

"Actually, I think that is a really good plan at this point." Kurt said, raising a finger.

"Yeah, it sounds good to me." Kitty said, nodding enthusiastically, clearly happy at the idea of not going into the woods.

"Remy?" Rogue said, looking at him. "This all right with you?" She asked, not really as a question, more as a confirmation.

The three of them looked at Remy expectantly and he looked back at each of them appraisingly. He shrugged and said, "At least it's a plan."

Rogue nodded and jerked her head towards the forest. "We better get movin'. We need to find as much dry wood as possible."

The four of them collected themselves and began to walk around the immediate area, searching for suitable wood for a fire, not noticing the seething Love Spirit standing not too far from them.

"Great Caesar's Ghost, this sucks! How could I have _not_ foreseen this?! Of course they would build a signal fire! It's only the most obvious thing to do in a situation like this, and it just so happens to be the one thing I _didn't_ prepare for! They can't be rescued quite yet! I haven't had the chance to get them all romantical and stuff! Not to mention, they're nowhere near Hirane! How could I have been so-" Matilda was about to call herself "mundanely, hopelessly, blindly, clueless," but she never got the chance to vocalize such a self-directed insult when she heard a familiar, but (in this scenario) welcome noise. Both her eyebrows raised when she heard the thunder begin to clap above her. Looking up, she noticed that the once slightly cloudy sky had become substantially darker.

The four in question began to notice the change in weather as well. They were not two feet in the forest when Kitty felt something damp fall on her forehead. She instinctively touched her palm to her brow and studied the moisture that was suddenly apparent in the center of her hand.

Rogue turned slowly to face Kitty. "Was that a raindrop Ah just felt?" Kitty nodded as her lower lip began to protrude into a pout. "Aw Hell."

Another drop fell onto the top of Rogue's head. And then another. And then four more. When the rain began to fall into a pattern-less staccato is also when our four mutants looked at one another with a quick glance before bolting into the forest.

Not too far along, Kurt motioned them towards some overgrowth that was joined with a tree. The four of them slid under the overgrown patch of ground just as the random pattern of rain became thick drops falling constantly, saturating the earth. Huddled close (but not too close), the kids looked out into the forest with short of pure misery on their faces.

There was another being in the forest who was not quite as miserable about the rain. Matilda stared up at the sky through the raindrops falling on her head. Her mouth was open and her eyes were wide with a distinct shocked awe.

"Great googally moogally… that… could not… have worked out better if I had planned it!!!" She excitedly exclaimed. With a gleeful smile she turned and was changed into a small pink raincoat, matching pink rain-boots, and a floppy pink rain hat, complete with an open purple flowered umbrella. She spun around in a circle, twirled her umbrella, and sang, "I'm singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain, what a glorious feeling, I'm happy again…"

There were others, though, who were not so enthused. Rogue and Kitty were both sandwiched between Remy and Kurt, with the two boys on total opposite ends of one another. Kitty subconsciously moved closer to Kurt while Remy gently wrapped his arms around Rogue's shoulders. Kitty's eyes peered upward at the sky as she said, "Maybe it'll pass over in a minute."

Thirty minutes went by, and the heavy rain remained constant in its weight. By then, the ground was completely saturated; all soil, fauna, and wood were completely soaked through.

The mood was glum to say the least. Kurt looked over at Kitty and noticed how her full lower lip was protruding in a pout once more. God help him, but that was all he could focus on. He was so pre-occupied with fighting the urge to kiss her that he almost missed Rogue asking him a question.

"Kurt?"

"Ja?"

"Do you still have the map?"

"Ja." He replied, patting the pocket that held the map.

"Okay. Kitty?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still have Remy's compass?"

"Yes." She confirmed, unfolding the fist that gripped the small gold compass.

"Good." Rogue studied the unrelenting rainfall for a moment, resolve flickering in her eyes. "As soon as the rain lets up… we'll need both of those for when we start to walk back."

"Y' sure dat's what y' want t' do cherie?"

"I don't think we have much of a choice at this point… do we?" Kitty said, resting her chin on her knees.

"Hey… ve've been in tighter spots before. It'll be like… cake." Kurt said, comfortingly rubbing his thumb over the back of Kitty's neck.

Kitty smiled a little and felt her eyes drift shut under her friend's gentle touches.

"Y' tired Chaton?" Remy said, sounding amused.

"Hey, we woke up at four this morning. I have every right to be sleepy." Kitty said, becoming more comfortable next to Kurt.

"It's not a terrible idea…" Rogue said, not bothering to contain a yawn. "…to get a little rest."

Kurt had leant back against the wall of the embankment; unconsciously, both he and Kitty's heads were tilted towards each other until they were both resting against one another. Kurt's tail flicked around the two of them until it protectively wrapped around Kitty's small waist and draped itself over her lap.

Remy, in the meantime, took advantage of Rogue's present lax state and wrapped both his arms tighter around her torso until her head was resting soundly on his shoulder. Placing the right side of his face gently on top of her scalp, he smiled contentedly and closed his eyes, the pattern of the rain lulling him into sleep.

Had they stayed awake a moment longer, they might have been able to hear a small, gentle, child's sigh… or they could have mistaken it for the wind, seeing as how said sigh had no visible source. Matilda was smiling sweetly at the four and had her tiny hands clasped over her heart. "I wish I had a camera… just so I could immortalize the cuteness!" She squealed.

Walking closer to them, Matilda turned Rogue's head slightly so she would be looking Remy square in the eye when she awoke. Then she moved over to the demon and the cat and pressed them together until Kitty was practically lying on top of Kurt.

After placing his hand on top of hers, Matilda took a step back and said, "Well now they look even more cozy." After smiling at them for a bit, she cocked her head in thought. "I think I'll leave them like this for a few; after the morning they've had, they deserve a good rest."

After nodding to herself slightly, Matilda noticed once more the rain falling around her. "Man, I so lucked out with this rain. Otherwise, I would have been S.O.L." Her brow furrowed when she said, "Hmm… I wonder if the rain has affected all of the forest. Like Lo-" Matilda stopped mid-sentence with a revelation. "Wait a tick… if it's raining all over then it may have slowed down Logan and his kids. Oh my God… they may be tempted to start heading back to camp!" She shook her head quickly and exclaimed, "Can't have that…. Not yet, anyway. I have to ensure that Logan does not pick up their trail." She glanced over at the four resting companions. "They won't be going anywhere for awhile." She narrowed her eyes, looked around the forest cautiously and whispered, "It's time to be bad."

XXX

This really was just one of those days for Logan. They were still a few hours hike from the summit, his face was hurting like a mother from that bee attack, and it had begun to rain. Not to mention there were still all these damn pests buzzing around.

"Let the rain fall down, let it wash away my sanity, 'cause I want to feel the thunder, I want to scream, let the rain fall down, I'm coming-"

"Tabby, if you sing that damn song one more time-"

"Tabby, shut up-"

"I'm going to be seeing fucking Nazi Hillary Duffs coming at me in my sleep now!"

"Hey! Don't curse in front of Jamie!"

"Don't get mad at me! It's not my fault Jamie plays that CD on repeat all the time!"

"I don't own a Hillary Duff CD, I found it in Bobby's room!"

"I don't- I... uh... Sam's a virgin!"

"You son of a bitch!"

"Hey, I take offense to that word!"

"Sorry Rahne."

"Okay Sam. So... you're untouched, eh?'

"I could be watching _Blazing Saddles _right now."

"Does anyone have any gum?"

"If you're hungry, eat some kudzu."

"Eew, no way am I eating a vine!"

"Hey, the Chinese have been drinking it as a tea for centuries; it does wonders for your health."

"Jubilee, since when are you a health nut?"

"It's a miracle for treating hangovers."

"Ah."

"My back's hurting."

"I have to pee again."

"I'm hungry."

"These bugs keep biting me."

"Mr. Logan, my head itches."

"Mr. Logan, my boobs are getting sweaty on the underside."

"Mr. Logan, I'm chafing."

"Mr. Logan-"

"Mr. Logan-"

"Mr. Logan-"

"SHUT UP!!! Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!!!" Logan yelled, his eyes almost popping out of his sockets, his hands practically ripping his hair from his roots, his face turning a shade of red that almost made the multiple bee-stings blend with his skin.

"Eeep." Went almost every young person present.

Logan took a moment to settle down and regulate his breathing. He had not noticed that almost every person there had sat down atop their hands and were staring at the teacher with a wide-eyed, fearful expression. When he managed to make the ringing in his ears stop, he looked down the row of seated, scared children and felt his face soften. Rolling his eyes, he said, "Okay, listen... I am going to go take a piss." He ignored the disgusted look of all the awkward teenagers. "During that time, you can do whatever you need to do to make yourselves more rested. Rahne, X, take it upon yourselves to find these whiners something to eat."

"Yes sir!" Rahne said, proudly giving Logan a salute.

"Should be easy to find something with the rain." X-23 nodded.

"How do you figure that, X?" Alex asked.

"Rain makes everything smell stronger; it's like a massive shower for the earth." Rahne said, morphing halfway into her lupine form.

Logan smiled a little; he liked having others who had enhanced senses around. It made him feel slightly less strange.

"No squirrels, please Rahne." Jamie asked, in his sickeningly sweet pre-pubescent boy voice.

"No worries Jamie. I find bunnies much more tender."

Shaking his head, Logan went a little ways further into the shrouded woods. He made an educated guess (after sensing the moisture in the air) that the rain had another twenty-to-thirty minutes before it let up.

In all actuality, the rain was exactly what Logan needed. Even his legendary healing factor was not enough to fully subside the recurring headache that refused to release his adamantium-laced skull. Annoying pre-teens just had that effect on him. Sniffing out a tree that had not been marked recently by another male, he unzipped his jeans to relieve himself. After dropping his pants just below his hairy buttocks, his mind drifted to four other miscreants who were presently M.I.A. It made him feel uneasy that neither Kurt nor Remy had made their way up the mountain with Kitty and Rogue in tow. It made him feel even less comfortable that Charles had not yet contacted him to inform him if they had returned to camp. The cool water that the rain brought somewhat soothed his headache, made the numerous bee-stings smart a little less, but did nothing to banish his lingering anxiety about his four missing students. Little Half-Pint and Stripes are out there in the rain, he thought to himself, his inner daddy instincts coming out to play. And those two piss-ants are with them, probably just standing by and doing nothing while those two poor girls get soaked... their clothes are going to be clinging to them in inappropriate places and all Cajun and Elf will do is stand back and watch and--

Logan stopped himself mid-thought when a surge of white-hot fury raged through him suddenly. Oh my God, how could I have been so stupid, he thought. I just let two teenage boys go off alone in the woods with two pretty teenage girls without _any _adult supervision. What was I thinking?! Elf and Cajun aren't the types to keep their hands to themselves; Elf maybe would, but definitely not the Cajun! I need to go find them right now!

"Crap!" Matilda said from behind the tree that Logan was presently urinating on. "This is what happens when I leave him alone for too long. I need a bit more time for their trail to become completely cold. But what could I..."

Matilda looked around the area that she and Logan occupied for something, _anything_ useful for her to use. She finally spotted exactly what she needed a few feet behind Logan. "Oh switch." She grinned.

Matilda reached into her great big pocket of everything and pulled out what resembled a simple white Asian fan, except this one was labeled in big brown letters "The Great North Wind Fan."

"Logan, you really shouldn't bother with Kurt, Kitty, Rogue, and Remy. There really are more important things you should be concerning yourself with." Placing herself in position behind the tree and firmly planting her feet on the ground, she began to flap the fan in Logan's direction. At first, it was not even a light breeze. But after only a few seconds, that not-even-a-light-breeze became a light breeze. And then that light breeze became a steady wind. It was when that steady wind became a strong gust of wind that Logan unexpectedly flew backwards a few feet, his bottom landing precisely on Matilda's target. "Like that fire-ant hill you just sat in."

Logan screamed in a shockingly girlish manner as a swarm of fire ants began attacking his body: his chest, his legs, his arms, his ass, his... genitals, everywhere really. He was thrashing violently on the ground as he continued to scream, using his hands to scratch whatever areas they could find first.

Of course Logan's screaming drew a good amount of attention to the Canadian's plight. Almost all of the students were running towards the writhing Canuck, with Rahne leading the pack in full wolf form. Upon reaching Logan, she quickly changed back into her human skin. "Logan, what happened-" Seeing his three-fourths naked form, she blushed until her face was the same color as her hair and quickly turned around covering her eyes. "By highlands, Mr. Logan, why are your pants down?!"

"What-" Said Sam, coming to stand beside Rahne. His eyes grew to occupy half his face when he saw their teacher flipping like a fish out of water on the ground in front of their once innocent eyes. "Oh mah God!"

"Geez!"

"Holy crap!"

"Sweet mother of fuck!"

"Don't curse in front of Jamie!"

"What's all the hubbub about?" A sweet little boy voice panted behind them, obviously having a more difficult time keeping up.

Rahne looked panicked when Jamie tried to make his way to the front of the crowd of adolescents. She quickly wrapped her arms around his tiny shoulders, pressed his back to her front, and shielded his much-too-innocent eyes from... the horror.

"Rahne, what are you-?"

"Don't look, boy! Don't look!"

"Oh my God, what's all over him?" Roberto asked, his mouth now permanently open.

"They're obviously fire-ants, you idiot." Warren said, rolling his eyes.

"Why are his pants not up all the way?" X-23 said with a grimace.

"He said that he needed to use the bathroom." Said Amara, raising a finger.

"Poor guy didn't even get a chance to pull his pants up." Alex said, shaking his head.

"It's so gruesome, and yet... I just can't look away." Jubilee said, cocking her head with a deer-in-the-headlights face.

"I think somebody needs to do something." Ray said, looking around at all those gathered.

"Oh yeah, you think?" Roberto said, earning a glare from Ray.

"Bobby." Went Piotr. "Freeze the ants."

"Oh yeah!" Bobby exclaimed, sounding surprised that he had not thought of that earlier. He jumped forward and let forth a burst of cold from his hand. This time, though, that particular plan did not work since the ants covered almost all of Logan's body, instead of just his head. Since there was no beehive to protect his skin (ironic, is it not?), Logan received a full-dose of cold. While the ants were indeed all dead, Logan's chattering teeth indicated a whole new problem.

"Oops." Said Bobby, bringing his hand to his mouth sheepishly.

"Nice move Red Fraggle." Sam said dryly.

"I don't know who's the bigger geek: you for making that reference or me for getting it?" Said Warren.

"Well, at least all the ants are dead." Rahne said, always the optimist.

"Yeah, but now Logan has a bad case of hypothermia." X-23 said, looking sympathetically at so pathetic Logan.

Tabitha was leaning over Logan's shivering form looking at him curiously when she said, "There really is just hair all over him, isn't there?"

"Well, I suppose there is only one thing to do now." Piotr said, as he stripped off his shirt.

"Whoa, this ain't that kind of bar, sailor." Alex said, holding his hands in front of him defensively.

Piotr rolled his eyes as he lowered his exposed torso across Logan's chest. "We have to give Comrade Logan our body heat in order to warm him properly."

Knowing that the Russian was right in this matter, all the students were looking at their teacher most apprehensively.

"I'm not giving the badger my body heat, you sicko." Tabitha said, crossing her arms across her chest..

"Gosh Tabby, I'd have thought you'd have more experience than anyone else here about exchanging body heat with older men." Jubilee said cattily, ignoring Tabby's glare.

"Think of it this way: imagine what Logan will do to you if you do not help him after all the times he has saved us." Piotr said, making himself more comfortable in his position.

"That's a good point." Sam said, not wanting to imagine what sorts of things Logan could do to them if pushed far enough.

"Okay, but can someone pull his pants up first? There are some things that Jamie is just not ready to see." Rahne said, her hands still soundly placed over the youngling's eyes.

Obviously, there were not immediate volunteers. Looking across all the young faces, Piotr sighed, "Fine. I'll do it." Carefully, he tugged Logan's jeans back over his hips and re-did the zipper. Making meaningful eyes at the others, he urged to hurry up and get a move-on.

Grumbling to themselves, all the students stepped forward. The boys shed their shirts on the ground and looked hopeful that the girls would follow suit; not in a million years. Each student draped him or herself over a different part of Logan.

Even Jamie had stripped off his own shirt; he was skinny, had no semblance of muscle tone, but he was quite proud of himself nonetheless. He managed to hug almost his entire self around Logan's head.

It was when little Jamie said, "Don't worry Mr. Logan, we'll have you all fixed up in no time," that Logan rolled his eyes and sincerely wished that he was covered in fire ants again.

Meanwhile, a certain Love Spirit was failing miserably in an attempt to contain herself on the forest ground by beating it with her little fists. "Oh my God, my kingdom for a camera!" She gasped. Finally collecting herself long enough to stand (though she still suffered a giggle or two), she wiped a tear from her eye and said, "But enough of this tom-foolery!" Looking dignified, she said, "It's time to get back to work!" And with that uttered, she was gone.

XXX

Rogue's eyes slowly drifted open and looked round at her surroundings. The rain had quit falling but the entire earth around them was soaked. A dense fog had settled over the woods and covered the once open space with a sparse white. The green in the forest, from the bushes to the leaves on the trees, were a lush vibrant hue from the dew that had coated them. The soil and grass and pine needles that made up the forest floor were all soft, almost like sand that had been touched by the morning tide.

Rogue turned her head slightly to look at her friends. Kitty was still asleep, but curled in a fetal position with her thumb in her mouth. Kurt was not far from Kitty, curled in a ball like a cat. Though they both looked just a little silly, Rogue could not deny that they both look pretty darn cute. Giggling quietly, she looked to her left to see what _he _was doing. Imagine her surprise when she looked over her left shoulder and saw nothing.

What? She thought. Now where could that Cajun have gone off-to?

Rogue rose to her feet and brushed the earth from her clothes. Careful not to disturb Kitty and Kurt, she stepped out from under the overgrowth. She peered around the forest; the soft brook that they had crawled out of was not far away. Something compelled her to believe that it was by the river where Rogue would find him.

Rogue had not even realized that she was walking until she noticed that the trees were moving backwards (or was it she who was moving forward?). She could not really say; she certainly could feel her feet moving. But somehow she found herself once again facing the river.

An eerie, but somehow beautiful, fog now hovered over the once clear stream. The clouds, still gray from the rain, gave this small area a blue light that seemed to permeate all other colors. What had once been a perfect scene of nature now possessed a supernatural pulchritude that Rogue could not deny made her feel right at home.

A quick movement among the trees caught Rogue's eye. Turning her back to the river, she searched with only her eyes for the source of the disturbance. The woods surrounding her were still, but there was a tension in the woodwork that was beginning to permeate Rogue's once calm exterior. She had not noticed the much larger shadow encompassing her own from behind her until it was too late.

Someone with rough but graceful hands grabbed her shoulders from behind. Rogue made a squeaking noise in her throat when she felt a hard, masculine body press full-length against her entire back half. Nothing could have prepared her for the groan she released when that someone began to nibble and suckle on the exposed white column that was her neck.

"Oh mah God." Was all Rogue could bring herself to say as a pair of strong arms encircled her hourglass waist. She involuntarily allowed her head to fall backwards as she relaxed into his embrace. She felt she should be afraid, but something in her mind told her that... she should be scared? So why the hell was she not scared?

The figure behind Rogue turned her around suddenly to face him so that he could begin to work on her neck from a front angle. She saw a familiar pair of ruby-on-onyx eyes made complete with an all-too-handsome face. Oh, she thought, that's why.

He was already at work at pushing her denim jacket off her shoulders and tossing it a few feet away from them. Rogue noted that he had already rid himself of his shirt; she took advantage of this by beginning to explore his strong shoulders, his toned back, his shockingly perfect chest. She barely noticed him unbuttoning her jeans until they were already pooled around her ankles.

He dropped to his knees; she half expected to feel his mouth between her legs next, but found herself surprised when all he was doing was unlacing her shoes and removing her pants and socks.

Free of the confines of her lower clothes, he rose to his feet and resumed his attentions to her neck, chest, and collarbone. Rogue wrapped her arms around his shoulders, winding her hands into his hair, and holding him close to her. She felt no shyness when she ground her panty-covered heat against his denim-guarded groin. It was his turn to moan against her skin as he moved his hands down her waist to cover her firm backside. Without warning, he lifted her until her legs were locked securely around his waist.

Rogue buried her face in the crook of his neck and began kissing, sucking, biting at his honey-like skin. Her response to him pushing aside the thin piece of fabric covering her feminine mound was nothing more than a smile and a gasp. The gasp was the reaction that followed him slipping two fingers into her tight, wet, hot opening. She bit hard into his shoulder, eliciting a deep, raspy groan from him.

Not able to wait any longer, he thrust hard and fast into her without any warning. Rogue's nails dug deep into his shoulders and raked them down the length of his back as opened her mouth in a silent scream. Her ankles arched into his lower back as she thrust forward to meet his hips.

"Oh God..." Rogue panted. "Harder... harder... oh fuck, faster, faster, faster, oh fuck, yes." It was not that long before Rogue felt the beginnings of her climax. She began to meet his hips at a much more rapid pace. Just as she felt the knot that had wound itself so tightly within her begin to come undone, she panted as her orgasmic warmth began to spread down through her legs and up into her belly.

Rogue had just reached her pleasurable peak when she opened her eyes and looked over his shoulder. He carried on thrusting himself into her even though her attention had moved to something else entirely.

There was a figure, not standing very far away, watching them. Rogue was shocked that she had not noticed him sooner. She could see him clearly; there were no shadows clouding his face, no trees guarding him from view, she could see him as clearly as the day. Her satisfied and pleasured expression quickly switched to one of shock and disbelief as her mind registered his tall, muscular build, his cinnamon colored hair, and most prominently his eyes. His all-too-handsome face mirrored her expression of shock and disbelief as his own red-on-black eyes locked with her own, neither one acknowledging that he was still thrusting into her body.

The world shattered when Rogue whispered the voyeur's name.

"Remy?"

XXX

Rogue jerked awake with a gasp within the same second that Remy awoke just as suddenly. He blinked a few times before turning his curious and confused eyes down to look at Rogue's equally confused (and slightly out of breath) face. Their eyes would not waver from being locked together, neither speaking, neither moving.

"Mmm... hey, did the rain stop?" Kurt yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. Rogue and Remy disengaged from each other, both turning their attention to their two other companions. Kurt was rolling his neck but Kitty was still dozing.

"Um... yeah, looks like the rain's finally let up." Rogue said, looking out into the forest.

"Vell then, ve should probably get moving, ja? Ve need to make the best of our daylight hours." Said Kurt, as he looked over at Kitty, who had begun to stir and sleepily open one eye to look at her friends.

"Is it time to go already?" She groaned.

"Yeah Kitty. C'mon, shake a leg. We got a long trip ahead of us." Rogue said, as she crawled out from under the overgrown earth and then treated herself to a nice full body stretch. Each of the other three joined her and did their form of removing the kinks from their catnap (Kurt did so by performing a back somersault).

"So where t' from here, Chaton?" Said Remy, looking around.

Kitty pulled out the compass and Kurt brought forth the map once more. After positioning the compass and studying the map for a few minutes, Kitty finally pointed in a direction northwest of where they stood. "That way."

Kitty and Kurt, being the navigators, led the way. Remy was about to follow when he stopped, turned, and looked at Rogue. She looked at him inquiringly and he opened his mouth, as though he wanted very badly to say something. But just as fast as his mouth opened did it close with a nonchalant shake of his head, and motioned with his hand for her to follow him. They both walked not far behind Kitty and Kurt, neither of them saying a word.

XXX

"God, the ground's so soft, isn't it?" Kitty said, testing the soil beneath her feet.

Rogue shuddered as she had a brief flashback to her dream, but shook it off as quickly as it had come. She looked forward at Remy's back and desperately wanted to say something, but the words stilled in her mouth.

"And... they're on the move!" Matilda said, tossing down the pair of army issue binoculars that she had been making use of. "Now so am I!" Sporting a baby pink velvet tracksuit with a matching pair of pink Converse (all petite size, of course), Matilda took off across the intertwining branches of the trees.

They had been walking in silence for what Matilda deemed "forever" (in reality, only six minutes and twenty two seconds) when the pint-sized Love Spirit decided that it was time to shake things up again. "But what to do, what to do..." She was walking so fast that she almost stepped on her solution. "Hello, hello, hello my pretty little eight legged friend." She said to the large spider nestled comfortably upon its web. "I know you must be busy but I was wondering if you might be willing to lend me a hand or however many you'd be willing to spare?" Holding her small hand out to the spider, it only hesitated a moment before stepping into her hand. She smiled at the spider before taking a few steps on the branches to be directly over Remy's line of walking. Raising the spider to be eye level with her, Matilda said, "I promise you that you will not be harmed." Shifting her eyes about mischievously, she finished, "Now here's what we're going to do..."

XXX

Rogue was ready to make a comment about the weather, if only to get conversation moving once again. She had just opened her mouth again when she noticed some movement atop Remy's head. She furrowed her brow, narrowing her eyes to try to distinguish what was in his hair. It was when the little eight-legged monstrosity had crawled down low enough to contrast with the skin of the back of his neck could she tell what it was.

Rogue was about to inform Remy of the small visitor of the small visitor on his neck when she noticed the arachnid horror was about to crawl down the back collar of his shirt. There was no time to warn him of such a horrible little thing, so she did the only logical thing she could think to do:

WHACK

"Owww!!!"

Very quickly and very hard, she slapped the back of his neck; not even the added layer that her gloves provided did anything to cushion the intensity of the blow. Unfortunately, the spider had swiftly traveled up its web before her hand could properly kill it, so Remy's skin received the full force of her slap. Rogue grimaced sympathetically and looked impossibly apologetic. At least now she had Remy's full attention as he whirled on her, looking angry and tenderly rubbing the back of his neck.

"What de hell was dat for?!"

"Ah am _so _sorry! There was a spider, Ah swear!"

"What? Where?" He asked, nervously feeling around his head and shoulders for anything creepy and crawly.

"It's gone now." They both paused for a moment to allow Remy a shudder just in case something else had crawled up his sleeves. "Ah am really sorry. Ah was just trying to-"  
"Remy knows, he knows. It's okay, really. Don't worry 'bout it none." Said Remy, waving it off with his hand.

"Thanks Rem." Rogue replied, faintly smiling. He nodded once before they both resumed walking. Neither suspected that above them there was a knee high Love Spirit giggling madly with a jovial spider.

"Great work Charlotte!" Matilda said, catching a fly for her new friend's web. "That worked so well that I think we should do it again. What do you say?" The spider seemed enthused at the idea. "Awesome. Let's do it!"

Back on the ground, Rogue was feeling more than a little embarrassed at slapping at an imaginary spider and hurting Remy. Even though he had accepted her apology, she still cringed at the memory of-

Oh no. Another spider (or was it the same one?) was once more crawling on Remy's neck, in the exact same spot as the last time. What to do, what to do? Just tell Remy or try to kill the spider again? It was poised ready to crawl down his shirt again; there really was only one thing to do.

WHACK

"Oww!"

Rogue grimaced again, not only because of the hurt she had just administered but also because the spider had vanished again.

"Rogue, what de hell-"

"Ah'm sorry. The spider came back."

"De spider came back?" He asked, incredulously.

"The spider came back." Rogue replied weakly. She gave him a meaningful apologetic look and he turned forward once more, not before he gave a questioning skeptical look in return. He and Rogue both resumed walking, with her praying that she would see no more spiders.

Fat chance of that happening. The very spider that was responsible for such trouble was climbing back up its of chord of webbing that it had used to climb down. At the top end of its web was a curious little girl, who had spun the web around her fingers, making the spider resemble a cross between a yo-yo and a marionette.

Once more eye level with her miniature cohort, Matilda grinned devilishly and said, "I think one more time should do it, wouldn't you say?"

Now this was just pushing it. Either Rogue was hallucinating or some demon-spawn arachnid had chosen her to torment; either way, the spider had returned to its home on Remy's neck. If she did not know any better, she would swear that the damn bug was actually taunting her.

But this time, Rogue would not fall into the same trap. No, this time she would inform Remy of the potentially poisonous little fiend that was crawling from the nape of his hair down to the bottom of this neck.

Aw Hell, that thing's going to bit him for sure this time, thought Rogue. I could still just politely mention that there's a spider on his neck... and then he would reasonably not believe me because of the last two times he hasn't realized that there was a spider on his neck... then he would feel for himself the spider crawling down the back of his shirt... and then he would probably freak out, drop to the ground and roll around in an overzealous attempt to kill the spider... and when the spider has finally been killed three or four times, he will stand up all composed again, and ask why I didn't do anything when I knew there was a spider on his neck.

...Oh, the Hell with it.

WHACK

"Yeowwwww!!!" Remy wailed as Rogue smacked the back of his neck once again.

Rogue felt horrible when she noticed that neither the palm of her hand nor the back of Remy's neck were covered in crushed spider smudges. I can't believe that little fucker escaped my clutches three times in a row, she thought glumly.

Remy whirled on Rogue quickly, his face contorted in a rage you could tell he was trying his utmost to contain. "What. De. Hell. Was. Dat?!"

"Ah swear to God, there was a spider there."

Remy's lips tightened and his eyes narrowed. Suddenly, Rogue felt a sharp sting below her right hip, directly on the curve where her buttocks met her thigh. Every feature on her face opened wide in an outraged shock when she realized what Remy had just done.

"What the hell was that for?!"

Remy shrugged and then smirked most innocently (is such a thing possible?). "Dere was a spider dere, Remy swears."

Rogue's lips tightened into a thin line and her eyes became wider with a frustration that hardly became her. "That is not fair, LeBeau. Ah was only tryin' to help you because (whether you beieve meh or not) there really was a spider there and-"

WHACK

This time, Remy landed his hand directly on Rogue's ass. Between her outrage, shock, and utter disbelief that he had indeed just truly spanked her, it was amazing that she had actually heard what Remy said when he spoke. "Oops, 'nudder spider."

He was smiling. That son-of-a-bitch actually had the nerve to smile after he had- Okay, now she was just pissed.

"Ow, that hurt!" Rogue said as she smacked Remy's shoulder. Hard.

"Well, how d' y' think it when y' hit Remy?" He replied, smacking her in the same spot she had smacked him previously.

"Ow!" went both of them when they both struck the other at the same time (Rogue to Remy's right pectoral, Remy to Rogue's left arm). Oh, now it was on.

Using both hands, the two young adults engaged in the ultimate smacking contest. There was only one unspoken rule: leave out the face. Both of them were too pretty to be smacked in the face. This mockery of a fight went on for a few minutes before it suddenly reached a new pinnacle. Remy's hands had been lighter than he had intended when he accidentally brushed the curve of Rogue's waist. Rogue unwillingly giggled under the Cajun's touch, and Remy realized that he had just entered into a whole new ballgame.

Remy mostly stuck to her waist and tummy, and it was those two areas that accomplished what he wanted most effectively. Rogue was giggling and laughing uncontrollably and begging Remy to stop. Did Remy heed her pleas? Hell no, this was payback.

Rogue had just managed to squirm out of his grasp when she felt his warmth press full-length against her back and his long, strong arms wrap around her waist as he lifted her a few feet off the ground. Rogue half-laughed and half-screamed when he spun them both in a semi-circle, tickling her sides all the while. Gaining some leverage when he set her back on the ground, Rogue maneuvered her arms so that she could at least attempt to achieve revenge. It worked... sort of. Not fully realizing the role that gravity was playing in their present position, Rogue managed to tickle Remy's sides, and was thrown aback when she realized that her sneak attack had indeed surprised Remy, causing him to bring them both down in a collapsed heap on the ground.

The two youths were panting when they rolled apart onto their backs. A few moments of deep breaths in and out passed before the two of them both simultaneously turned their heads a quarter to look at one another. When they locked eyes once more... they both began a fresh peel of laughter, louder than before.

Both Kitty and Kurt had paused on their trail when they noticed that neither Rogue nor Remy were following any longer. They peered over at their friends form a short distance, but a distance nonetheless.

"They are so weird." Kitty said, not taking her eyes off the laughing people on the ground.

"Agreed."

After a beat, the elf and his cohort turned to look at each other. One shared shrug later and the two resumed walking forward. Unfortunately, neither of them saw the all-too-convenient overgrown root of a nearby tree that had sprouted right through the trail that they were embarking on (naughty, naughty Matilda). Tripping over the said root, both Kitty and Kurt braced themselves on their forearms and stared at the ground before peering over to look at each other. And that's when the laughter caught them as well.

Above all of their heads, a certain Spirit of Love was thanking a spider. "A job well done, girlfriend. Gimme eight!" After gently setting her spidery friend back on its respective web, Matilda stepped off the tree branch without even looking down and landed most gracefully on her feet. Looking between the two happy pairings, Matilda smiled and began to dig through her great big pocket of everything. "I think all this merry, silly, laughter will serve as an excellent transition to possibly one of my most favorite-est parts of my job." Pulling out her pink iPod Mini (that contained every love song ever written), popping the little white earbuds into her tiny ears, and selecting a fitting song from her massive playlist, she said, "It's time... to cue... the romantic-comedy-musical-montage-sequence!"

_Get a load of me, get a load of you_

_Walkin' down the street, and I hardly know you_

The morning hike went by fast, but, oh-so eventful. The group mostly followed Kitty and Kurt, who led with the map and compass, and remained completely unaware of the dancing Love Spirit who followed them. They also somehow remained unaware of the affectionate, yearning glances that their respective significant others kept stealing.

_It's just like we were meant to be_

Matilda did her utmost to make this the most romantic, euphoric, beautiful nature walk that these four had ever experienced in their young lives. In between the time she took while dancing, she would smoothly play a little trick to get them as close as possible. As an example, they had to step down from a high overgrowth of land that their trail had become. Remy and Kurt hopped down onto the ground below them and then politely reached up to Rogue and Kitty to help them down.

_What if this is just the beginning?_

_We're already wet, and we're gonna go swimming_

Kurt had one hand entangled with Kitty's own hand and his other hand on the opposite side of her waist. Kitty landed successfully on her feet next to Kurt and they both continued on. Remy was about to help Rogue down in a similar manner, but Matilda had other ideas. Very quickly, she kicked out the edge of earth that separated Rogue from the ground and gravity. Rogue began to fall much sooner than she had planned; fortunately for her, a certain Creole happened to be there to catch her, with her draping her arms around his neck, his arms around her waist, and her feet dangling a few inches from the ground. As the two of them stared into one another's eyes, neither realizing that there were witnesses to this display of obvious, tangible, sexual tension. Kurt rolled his eyes and Kitty leaned over to whisper in his ear, "Will they just make out already?"

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?_

_Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?_

Of course, sometime later, Kitty and Kurt found themselves in a similar position. They had paused to catch some fish from a stream for brunch (they had not had breakfast or lunch, after all). All of them had removed their coats and rolled up their pants as far as their legs would allow, but it was only the boys who stripped off their shirts. They spent about thirty-seven minutes trying to catch a fish the way Logan had showed them (with their bare hands) but were mostly unsuccessful. Kurt was the one who finally managed it (quipping to Kitty "I caught you a delicious bass"). The fish would have his revenge later, after being prepared, cooked, and shared between the four of them, when suddenly Kurt swallowed too much at once and began to choke. Kitty managed to summon any brute strength she had in order to properly perform the Heimlich maneuver on her blue friend. Kurt breathed in a few times, thanked Kitty profusely, and vowed never to eat fish again.

_It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it_

_So tell me_

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?_

Matilda had nothing to do with the fish incident (remarkably), but she did play a hand a bit later. Rogue had paused to admire the flowers that had fully bloomed on a tree. Since she was directly beneath it, Matilda had little difficulty in hopping up into the tree and shaking the branches a little. The white petals from the blossoms fell all around and above Rogue, who was smiling at the snow-like beauty that surrounded her. The sight of the delicate, white petals clinging to her hair and skin almost made Remy's heart stop.

_It's an itch we know we are gonna scratch_

_Gonna take a while for this egg to hatch_

Kitty was innocently walking by a bush when Matilda tossed a small rock into said bush. This normally would have gone unnoticed... except this small rock disrupted a horde of yellow butterflies that were hidden within the bush. The butterflies swarmed and fluttered around Kitty, who simply giggled at the ticklish sensation that they evoked within her. She was so enthralled with the winged creatures that she did not even notice Kurt staring at her reverently.

_But wouldn't it be beautiful?_

The day wore on and it was blistering hot by the time noon rolled around. The trees only shaded them from the sun, but nothing could keep the air from being sweltering. Of course their coats and jackets found themselves tied around their waists. Rogue was very glad that she had been walking behind Remy when he pulled off his shirt and stuffed it in a pocket where half of it dangled freely with each step he took. Granted, Rogue had seen Remy without his shirt on before but this was a first for her; she had never seen him shirtless _and _sweaty. Holy God, she never imagined she would ever want to jump his bones just by staring at his back. At least by walking behind him, he could not see how flushed her face had become.

_Here we go, we're at the beginning_

_We haven't fucked yet, but my head's spinning_

Kurt never took off his shirt so Kitty could not relate to Rogue's predicament. There came a point when they were curious about how much further they were from the mountains; the trees did a thorough job of obscuring the sky for the most part. Kurt volunteered to port to the top of one of the taller trees to check on the matter. The three left on the ground had only been sitting for a few minutes when Kurt suddenly ported back. With a mysterious smile plastered on his face, he reached out his hand to Kitty. She looked confusedly at both Rogue and Remy (who simply shrugged in response) and allowed Kurt to port away with her.

_High enough for you to make me wonder_

_Where it's goin'?_

Rogue and Remy remained grounded and sitting on their own respective rocks. Remy had been casually looking around when he turned slightly to see what was behind them. He startled Rogue when he suddenly dropped to the ground, flat on his stomach.

_High enough for you to pull me under_

_Somethin's growin'_

Rogue looked at him perplexed and opened her mouth to speak when he held up a single finger to his lips, signaling that she should remain quiet. Rogue was about to look behind her but Remy shook his head at her. He finally pointed at her and then waved her to come down on the ground while he mouthed "slowly." Convinced that there was another bear behind her, Rogue did exactly as he said. Once on the ground, Remy began to crawl around the rocks that they had been sitting on to some bushes growing close by. Pushing some branches aside, he motioned for her to join him. She did so, wondering all the while what he was up to. Once beside him, Rogue looked at Remy expectantly. He smiled at her in return and pointed in a direction through the branches he had pushed aside for her. She looked towards where he had been pointing and gasped.

_Out of this that we can control_

_Baby I am dyin'_

Kurt had managed to situate Kitty to where she was hanging onto his side while he climbed to the top of the tree. Kitty mentally chanted to herself "don't look down" as they climbed higher and higher. But she trusted Kurt with all of her being and knew he would never allow anything to happen to her. Upon reaching the top of the tree, he smiled as he pushed the branches out of his Kätzchen's way and nodded with his head for her to climb the rest of the way. Knowing that Kurt was behind her was all the reassurance Kitty needed. Breaking through the top of the tree, she gasped.

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?_

A doe and her two fawns were grazing a on small, softly damp, bright green patch of grass. Periodically, the doe would reach down and lick the back of one of her babies' heads. It was possibly one of the cutest, sweetest, prettiest things that Rogue had ever witnessed and she was so thankful that Remy had led her to it. While Rogue was enthralled with the perfect scene before her, Remy took the opportunity to stare at her gleeful profile openly, not remembering the last time he had felt this content.

_Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?_

Kitty could see everything and she meant really everything. The entire forest was stretched out before her like a sea of green, contrasting beautifully with the blanket of blue and white that the sky created, finally the mountains in the distance framed everything. I wonder if this is how it feels to look at the world from God's seat, she thought. Kurt could appreciate the beauty of the natural world that surrounded them, but all he could really focus on was the joyful knot in the pit of his stomach that was created in knowing that he had made Kitty happy.

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?_

_Why can't I speak whenever I talk about you?_

_It's inevitable, it's a fact that we're gonna get down to it_

_So tell me_

_Why can't I breathe whenever I think about you?_

_Whenever I think about you_

_Whenever I think about you_

_Whenever I think about you_

_Whenever I think about you_

What you've just read is 76 pages long on Word so what I'm about to say may come as a shock to some: this is not the entire chapter. I was getting impatient with myself... I'm not even sure if that's possible! So much like Quentin Tarantino did with _Kill Bill_, I've decided to release half of the chapter now, and then the next half when I'm done with it. Once I'm done with the second half of this chapter (I shudder to think about how long that thing's going to be), I will take down this "tiny" (I use that word very loosely) update, and post the chapter in its entirety. I also have a very long author's note at the ready of the second half to explain why this has taken so long to update. I hope I've made some people happy. Later!


	7. Chapter Five: Sail Away Vol 2

Chapter Five Vol

93

Chapter Five Vol. 2: "Sail Away"

Okay, the heat was becoming truly ridiculous. The air was growing thick and would only continue to rise. Not being able to stand the feeling of damp cotton pressed uncomfortably against sweaty clumps of fur any longer, Kurt finally relented and stripped off his "Vote for Pedro" shirt, draping it over his tail like a clothes' line. Being the one holding the compass, Kitty walked ahead of everyone else so she was not aware of her friend's state of shirtless-ness. At least, not until Rogue said, "Y'all hold up."

She had noticed the slower pace the four of them had begun since the hot afternoon settled over them. They all sighed in relief as they sat down on the ground and wiped the sweat from their faces. Of course, not everyone was suffering in the June heat. When her subjects sat down, Matilda took this opportunity to set up her beach lounge chair, change into a pair of yellow, cotton short-shorts, a cotton white halter top, her white cat-eye sunglasses, her white sandals, pulled her short hair back into a small ponytail, and helped herself to that nice, cool glass of pink lemonade that she had been saving. Reclining back on her dramatically oversized chair, taking a sip of lemonade from her pink swirly straw, and switching on her battery-operated, handheld fan, she paid no heed to the four youths desperately fanning themselves with their hands. To the girls she said, "Aren't you glad you didn't wear any makeup today?"

"I'm so glad I didn't wear any makeup today." Kitty said, wiping both her hands over her red face. "It would have been running down to my knees by now."

"Would any o' y' be remotely offended if Remy chucked his pants off and walked de rest o' de way naked?"

Kurt immediately replied, "Ja, ve vould." Noticeably, neither Rogue nor Kitty gave any answer.

As Rogue pulled off her Doc Martins and socks, she said, "Ah want to go the rest of the way barefoot but Ah think mah feet might plan to kill meh in mah sleep if Ah did."

"You know what I would do if it were this hot back at the Institute?" Kitty said, after following Rogue's example and wiggling her bare toes to get some air between them. "I would just spread out on the floor directly beneath a ceiling fan."

"I vould raid the freezer and eat all the popsicles and ice cream."

"Always one t' think o' your stomach first, eh Kurt? Personally, Remy would go stand in de library where de A.C. is so strong comin' out o' dat one vent."

"And that is the only time Remy LeBeau will be seen in a library. Right about now, Ah would be going for mah afternoon lap around the pool."

Rogue's other three compatriots groaned in pleasure. "Rogue, don't say 'pool'. God, a swim would feel so good right now." Kitty said, brushing the little curls out of her face. She had tied her hair into a bun since they had been walking; a few wisps of hair that hung around her face had managed to escape. Kurt had never known that when coated with moisture Kitty's hair would curl. Small ringlets close to her hairline stood up to resemble a halo of ringlets. He wondered if the rest of her hair was wavy as well. He (quite sadly) admitted to himself that he would never find out because of her insistence on keeping her hair back at all times.

"I don't get what they're complaining about. I'm comfortable." Said Matilda, as she aimed her little fan at her short neck. Taking a quick glance at the small whirring device, she conceded, "Of course, I suppose I do have a bit of an unfair advantage." Taking another sip of lemonade, she barely turned her head to look around. "It probably wouldn't hurt to let them have a cool down. Okay, about another few minutes should give them ample time to lower their body temperatures." Settling back into her chair once more, Matilda pulled out the latest Gail Carson Levine novel, and began to read. A slight cool breeze barely brushing the skin on the back of her neck caught her attention, though. "Hmm... that's strange." Twisting her body towards the direction of the breeze, Matilda narrowed her eyes to make out what was beyond the trees behind her. Something was there. Something... blue?

Matilda hopped off her chair for closer investigation of the source of the coolness. Dodging under a few branches, she finally came upon a lake. A very pretty lake. Well, a "pretty lake" was a description that really did not do this particular body of water justice. It was so picturesque: the trees that lined the lake looked thick and lush; the water was clean and just the right shade of blue; the gravel and dirt that rose out of the lake was saturated from the constant beating of the slight waves and did not quite meet the grass in the forest for a few feet so it almost resembled a very tan beach. Matilda was angry at herself for not discovering this place sooner.

"It's too perfect, though." Matilda said, shaking her head. She looked down at what she was standing on; it was a small cliff of rock that stood at a safe height over the lake. "This would be perfect for taking a dive into the water... but the water is probably too shallow." Looking around to be sure no one was watching, Matilda turned in a circle and was changed into a gold one-piece bathing suit and her short hair was braided into thin cornrows. "Gentlemen and ladies of the wood, I have an announcement to make: CANNONBALL!!" And she jumped into the water below her.

The water around the rock was not too shallow. In fact, its depth was simply perfect for jumping into. "Okay, so that checks out. And the water temperature is nice... but I bet it's just crawling with leeches." Doggy paddling on the surface of the water, Matilda pulled out her Skinny Dipper 3000 and stretched the antenna out to its full length. Holding it in front of her flat chest, she flipped a little switch to turn it on and said, "Perimeter leech check." Viewing the readout it produced, Matilda's eyebrows raised in surprise. "None in the area?! You're kidding." Reappearing fully dry on the rock where she started, Matilda looked out at the lake with an awe-stricken look on her face. "This place is almost too perfect! But should I lead them here? I mean, they were just talking about how nice it would be to go for a swim just now, but it's not like they have some swimsuits handy and I highly doubt that they'd be willing to have their clothes be soaked twice in one day. So if they can't go swimming in their clothes and they don't have any bathing suits, then the only way they could go swimming in that lake is if they weren't-" Matilda stopped herself when her train of thought led her to a very promising conclusion. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes alit, she said, "All I really need to do is some basic arithmetic: Four sexy teens. One sexy hot summer day. One sexy secluded forest. And one incredibly sexy leech free pond..." She trailed off as a slow, mischievous grin stretched across her features. "I do believe that it's time to get naked."

XXX

Rogue was wondering that if she were to lick the sweat off of her arm if it would aid towards hydrating her throat when she felt something against the back of her neck. It was nothing unpleasant; actually, it was a cool breeze that felt rather nice against her overheated skin. Turning her head back she saw a clearing that was beyond the trees. What was within that clearing was not visible. "Do y'all feel that?"

"Yeah, it's cooler back there for some reason." Kitty said, looking in the same direction that Rogue was facing.

"Let's investigate, oui?" Remy said, forcing a grin over his sweat coated face.

"Vait, shouldn't ve stay..." By the time that Kurt had opened his mouth, Remy and the girls were already walking in the opposite direction. "Close to the trail?" He finished before porting to catch up with them.

Kitty looked back at Kurt briefly when he joined them in a puff of smoke. Because of this she was not looking forward when Remy stopped walking abruptly, causing Rogue to crush her front right against his back, which in turn caused her to be sandwiched between Remy and Kitty, who, in turn, felt Kurt crash flat into her back.

"Remy, what are-"

"Remy, vhat's the big-"

"Remy, what do you think you are doin'-"

All three of them halted their questions when they saw what had taken a hold of Remy. They stepped out from behind the Cajun, the expression of awe matching on all four of their faces.

"Oh mah God." Rogue sighed, looking out over at the lake before them.

"This is so pretty!" Kitty squealed.

"And the vater looks so nice too." Kurt agreed.

"An' here we were just talking' 'bout how nice it would be t' go fo' a swim." Remy said, taking a step towards the water, but Rogue's gloved hand reached out and stopped him from going any further by pressing itself firmly against his chest.

"Y'all wait a second. Ah know that this looks amazing but we ain't got time for this right now."

"Aww. But why?" Kurt and Kitty echoed.

"We need to cover as much distance as we can while we still got the sun."

"Oui, and Remy fully agrees wit' dat." Kitty and Kurt both looked at Remy clearly surprised that he had changed his tune so quickly. "Though, if we keep dat idea in mind, how much good will we be gettin' from de day if we be stoppin' every five minutes t' keep from gettin' heat stroke?"

Rogue had a really good response... somewhere in her brain to that comment, but she just could not think of it at that moment in time.

Remy grinned at her silence and began to step towards the lake once again, with Kitty and Kurt eagerly following him. A new thought came to Rogue and she stepped out in front of Remy to stop him once again.

"Do y'all want to get your clothes wet _twice _in one day? Think of how long it took us to get them dry this morning. Do you really want to go through that again?"

Not even Remy could really deny his own desire to keep his clothes dry. Leave it to Matilda to provide Remy with a proper solution.

"You _know _that you don't need clothes to go swimming..."

Rogue had not anticipated the return of Remy's signature mysterious yet oh-so-naughty grin. Oh God, what's he thinkin' now?

"Now, Remy never said a word 'bout needin' clothes t' go swimmin'." Rogue face stretched in shock as her cheeks began to redden in modesty. Kurt was somewhere between laughing and feeling scandalized.

"Well duh, Remy. We need bathing suits more than we need clothes, but we obviously don't have those right now-" Kitty quickly caught on after the incredulous look that Rogue shot her. "Oh." And she began to blush.

"Absolutely not, LeBeau."

"Oh, come on, Roguey. We all be friends here. 'Sides, Remy did just see y' in y'r very lovely undergarments dis mornin'. It wouldn't be much more t' see de whole she-bang."

"First of all, Gumbo, you are not even close to being ready for the whole she-bang." Remy's eyebrows raised a bit. "Second of all, Ah seem to recall a certain someone just sayin' this morning that underwear covers all the necessary parts anyway. But now you're sayin' that you've practically seen meh naked? Make up you mind, please."

"Hey that's it!" Kitty happily shouted clapping her hands together.

"What's it?" Her three compatriots asked.

"We can just go swimming in our underwear! It's like Remy said, it all covers the same areas that a normal bathing suit would cover and-"

"Kitty," Rogue interrupted, "Ah think the only thing worse than soggy clothes are soggy underwear. Can you imagine how uncomfortable they would be to walk around in all day?"

Kitty's face fell a little (Kurt had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from coming over there and kissing that sad expression right off her face) and she said, "Oh yeah. I hadn't thought of that."

Rogue sighed. "Ah wanna beat this heat as much as y'all do, but Ah just don't think that going for a swim _naked_ is the way to do it."

"Rogue, it is really hot." Kitty said, in her sympathetic, whiny voice that almost always won over Kurt.

"Kitty, Ah can't believe you're actually consenting to be _naked_ in front of two boys, when you were freaking out about your bra and panties earlier."

"And in front of Remy no less." Kurt added, looking surprised at his best friend.

"See? The heat is already getting to me!" Kitty exclaimed, motioning towards the sun.

"Oh mah God." Rogue said, disgruntled, annoyed, exasperated, and admittedly very hot.

"What's wrong wit' de naked form anyway? It's how we all entered dis world, how God had intended us to be, de most natural state of-"

"Remy, stop with the pro-nudity speech." Rogue said, holding her hands up at him.

"Yes, thank you." Kitty said, shaking her head at him.

"That's really quite enough." Kurt added.

"Please." Matilda said, rolling her eyes.

"Look, if y' want, Ah'll turn 'round, like so." Remy said, turning his back to Rogue. "Dat way de filles can get undressed an' jump in an' still keep de modesty dat dey covet."

Rogue had wished that Remy had not phrased it in such a way that made her feel like a nun. Shrugging it off, she looked at Kitty, who did look like she might overheat if they did not do something soon. Kitty looked back at Rogue smiling pleadingly. Her white-striped friend sighed defeated as she said, "Fine. But you better keep your back turned."

"Yes, ma'am." Rogue could not see the half-smile that Remy hid from her view.

Kitty could not hold back her giggle even if she had tried. She looked entreatingly at Rogue and smiled. Rogue rolled her eyes and said, "Ah said okay, didn't Ah?" She whirled sharply to Remy, who had turned back around and was smirking infuriatingly at her. "But you had better not even try to sneak a peek at meh. And don't try anything else that you know Ah will not like."

"Remy really don't know what y' talkin' 'bout." Remy replied, looking up at the sky, coyly and innocently.

"Oh, Ah'm sure you don't." Rogue deadpanned. "Ah'm bein' serious here, Remy. Ah'm lettin' you know right now that if you try any sort of funny business-"

"Funny business? Moi?' Remy said, pressing a hand to his own heart.

"Yes, you."

"No idea what kind o' funny business y' could be talkin' 'bout."

"Uh-huh. Ah know that you haven't any idea what 'touchy-feely' funny business Ah could be referrin' to." Rogue shook her head. "But if you do think about it and/or try something... well, you know what will happen to you." Remy was not looking in her eyes when she said this, but instead glanced down at the brief stretch of skin from her shoulder to her wrist that was left exposed by the tank top and gloves she wore. Before she could say anything about the direction of his eyes, he looked back to her face and lazily smiled.

"Y' be clear as crystal, mon cherie."

Rogue wanted to say something else, but allowed the feeling to pass. Both she and Remy jumped when they heard Kitty's voice. "Um, hey guys, are we going to do this or what?"

"Or do you both just vant to spend the rest of the day talking about vhat you don't vant each other to do?" Kurt said, in a rather snarky tone that did not suit him.

"Right. You two..." Rogue twirled her index finger in a circle at the two boys, who both turned their backs to the two girls.

Even though they knew that neither Kurt nor Remy could see anything, both Rogue and Kitty turned away from them as well. Rogue's finger had just reached the button at the tops of her jeans when she felt a strong pair of hands trace down the curved length of her waist. Her eyes bugged out of her head when she felt a breathy whisper in her ear, "Y' will never know if y' don't like somethin' if y' never try it." The warmth of his breath spread over the strands of hair that covered her ear and caused her to shudder a bit. Before she could even say anything, he and his hands were gone and his back was turned to her once more. Rogue shook off the feeling of his hands on her and resumed unbuttoning her pants.

Kitty had begun by un-tying her shoes and removing her socks. After undoing her jacket from around her waist, she glanced over her shoulder at Kurt and Remy; their backs were still to them and neither of them were making any attempts to look back. With that knowledge encouraging her, she quickly divested herself of her shirt and then slid her pants down her small hips and over her toned legs.

Rogue had set her Doc Martins and socks aside and took a breath. Like ripping off a band-aid, she chanted in her head. She breathed in and before she breathed out, she had pulled her tank top off. Putting some space between herself and Kitty, she pushed her jeans down her curved hips and shapely legs. She looked backwards real quickly before reaching for the hook of her bra.

Kitty felt very strange after tossing her bra on top of the pile of her clothes. Some people called it liberating to be nude in such an open area, but she still felt as though she was being watched. Doing her best to ignore that feeling, she hooked her fingers around the straps of her thong and quickly pulled it off.

Rogue felt the weight of her breasts press closer to her body after being freed of her bra. So that she would not even have to acknowledge how exposed she was, she made quick work of her boy-shorts. Placing her undergarments on her own messy pile of clothes, she looked at Kitty, who nodded at her. Both of them turned back one last time at their two male companions. Remy was shifting his weight back and forth from his heels to his toes and Kurt was shifting from one foot to the other while his tail swished violently from his right side to his left. All that mattered was that both boys still had their backs turned.

When the girls turned back to face the body of water, Kitty instinctively reached for Rogue's _bare_ hand. Fortunately, Rogue recoiled from Kitty about four feet away. Remembering exactly who her best friend was, Kitty gave her an apologetic grimace and the two looked down to see how far the drop was to the water.

"What if it's really, really cold?" Rogue offered.

"Den get out o' de water." Replied Remy, still not facing the two nude girls.

"Ah wasn't talkin' to you, Cajun." Rogue said through pursed lips.

"Can ve turn around now?"

"No, no, not now!" Kitty said to Kurt hastily.

"Vell, not to rush either of you or anything, but these trees are becoming a bit too familiar and a change of scenery vould be nice."

"All right, all right." Rogue and her friend focused on the lake once more. "On three?"

"No, not on three." Kitty shook her head as Rogue looked at her just a little surprised. "Just in case the water _is _cold, I want to be screaming. So yeah, I won't be able to count."

Rogue nodded and said, "Ah like that better." Making sure that there was a safe distance between the two of them so there would be little-to-no risk of accidental skin contact, Rogue and Kitty shared one final mutual nod before they both screamed at the top of their lungs and dropped into the water below them.

Thankfully the water was lukewarm, but cool enough to stave off the heat. Rogue had to admit that this felt better than swimming at home. The feeling of weightlessness encompassing her bare skin; she hoped that this is what being touched felt like. Both girls surfaced, breathing in the clean air. Kitty flipped her saturated hair backwards, accidentally splattering Rogue's face. As she wiped off the excessive water, she combed her hair back with her fingers and noticed something slightly disturbing. From kicking and moving her arms and legs, she was at risk at touching Kitty.

"Kitty, Ah think there needs to be a bit more space between us. Swim out a bit, will you?" After rolling her eyes, Kitty paddled a few feet away. "Um... maybe just a little bit more."

Kitty did as her friend said and swam until she was about twelve feet from Rogue. "How's this?" She hollered.

"Are you two ready yet?" Kurt's voice echoed over the ledge.

"Not yet!" Both Kitty and Rogue yelled.

"Um... maybe just a little bit more!"

"Fine!" Kitty exclaimed, swimming further towards the center of the lake. She did not quit swimming, telling herself that this was just her workout for the day.

"How 'bout now?" Remy's voice bellowed.

"Now's good!" Rogue called back. She did not expect Remy's accusing face to peek over the edge of where he and Kurt stood. After quickly submerging herself down to her collarbone, Rogue looked Remy square in the eye and asked, "What do you think you're doin', LeBeau?"

"Makin' sure dat _our_ privacy was bein' respected."

Rogue had to laugh. "And here Ah was thinkin' that you had no modesty."

"Oh, de Cajun does not. But dat don't mean dat he shouldn't expect de same courtesy he so graciously gave t' y'all."

"You have got to be kidding. Ah can't even see half of your head! Besides..." Rogue hesitated by nibbling on her lower lip before saying what came after "besides;" dare she be so bold?

"Besides?" Remy encouraged.

"...It ain't like you got anything Ah haven't seen before... _personally_."

Oh mon dieu, I can't believe she actually had the guts (no, wait, the _balls_) to bring that up again, Remy thought with a grin.

Of course, there was one person within close proximity of them who refused to tolerate their flirting. "For mein own very-much-existent modesty, vould you both care to turn around?" Kurt called down to the two young women.

"Kitty's pretty much out of earshot and she's still swimming." Rogue replied, her eyes finding Kitty already halfway across the lake. Not too enthused about the idea of seeing her brother naked, Rogue conceded and turned her back to the two boys.

Kurt and Remy eyed one another discreetly in a non-homoerotic way. Matilda sighed in appreciation at the sight of Remy and Kurt's bare chests and backs as both boys challenged each other to get undressed first. Remy's upper torso was broad compared to Kurt's more narrow shoulders and streamlined chest. That broadness tapered into Remy's smooth abdomen and cut hips. Kurt's lower half was proportional with the rest of his body: narrow yet defined. Neither young man were lacking in the muscle department. Remy's chest, arms, back, and abs were ripped in a manner similar to a Greek statue. His tan Creole skin-tone covered his flesh exotically with a light sprinkling to hair covering his chest and under his bellybutton where the treasure trail disappeared into his pants. While Kurt was leaner in size when compared to Remy, every inch of his body was ripped and rock hard. "You know, I bet strength wise, Kurt would be able to hold his own with Remy. Remy's bigger but Kurt there has the rare but highly coveted gymnast's strength," Matilda was dressed in a red, white, blue star spangled leotard when she performed half of a handstand. "The ability to lift, carry, and bend one's own body as a sign of physical perfection." Matilda breathed in deeply, focusing every ounce of energy that she possessed in her non-corporeal body into... the rather pathetic cartwheel that she performed. Why she was proud of it... well, she's Matilda. "Whoo-wee! How's that for a slice of fried gold?"

Meanwhile, Remy looked at Kurt; Kurt looked at Remy. Both glanced at the water where they knew two wet, naked, attractive females frolicked.

"I can't believe they're torn between horniness and modesty. If this doesn't work, I'm pushing them in." Matilda stepped forward and looked between the boys. "Do you _really_ want him to think that you're shy? Or worse, that you're ashamed of what you're packing _ahem_ down there?"

There we go. Remy promptly began to kick off his shoes and socks as Kurt used his fingers and tail to unbutton his pants. When Kurt had been freed of his pants and was down to his boxer-briefs, Remy had his jeans around his knees. Kurt swished and flexed his tail to stall removing his underwear until Remy had stripped himself of his pants and was also down to his undergarments. Remy glanced at Kurt out of the corner of his eye. Matilda was comparing their legs as both boys pulled off their boxers. She had just concluded that both of them had very muscular legs and that the differences they had were that Kurt's legs were thinner, his feet were highly arched, and, oh yeah, he was covered in blue fur, when she was suddenly distracted by two gorgeous man rears.

"Heelllooo booty!" Matilda really could not help the lecherous little grin that appeared on her lips. It seemed Kurt really was blue and furry all over, with the base of his tail resting just above the crease of where his tight derriere began. Remy's buttocks was quite muscular, to the point where Matilda extended her arms (not a long reach) and made a squeezing motion with her tiny hands and making her mouth bite the empty air a few times. Remy's tan line left a very white butt. For some reason, it only made him more attractive. "Yow. I'd love to squeeze those things like a sand-filled stress cushion." Cocking her head to the left, Matilda giggled. "God bless the U.S.A... and Germany."

Both young males (and Matilda) took a quick peek at the other's genitals. Remy smirked a little upon seeing that he was the bigger one, while Kurt shuffled his feet and looked down at the ground.

"Hmm... Kitty exaggerated a bit when she said that Kurt was huge. I mean, he's certainly not tiny, nor is he average, but he's not massive. But neither is Remy. He's definitely bigger than big, but not to the point of being ridiculous. And would you look at that..." Matilda raised both of her eyebrows. "Neither of them were circumcised."

"Vell, are ve going to do this or vhat?" Kurt finally said.

"Are y'all done yet? Can Ah turn around now?" Rogue called from down below.

"Not yet!" They both yelled back.

"Shall we?" Remy motioned with his hand, preparing himself to jump into the water.

Kurt was also poised to go when he noticed Kitty swimming across the lake. "On second thought, you go ahead. I think I'm going to-" BAMF

Remy coughed out the brimstone and readied himself for his jump once more. "Un fo' de money, deux fo' de show, trois t' get ready-"

"Will you just jump already?!" Both Rogue and Matilda shouted at the Cajun.

"Fine." Remy muttered sharply. Not waiting a second longer, he stepped off the ledge and allowed his body to drop into the water with a loud splash.

Unfortunately, Remy's drop caused the water to make a small wave splash over Rogue's head, soaking her face once more. She breathed in sharply and turned around ready to give that infuriating Cajun a piece of her mind, but all that looked back at her was empty space. The water had calmed somewhat from Remy's dive, and was almost still, save for the light ripples that Rogue created as she softly paddled to keep above the water. But Remy was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Cajun, you better not make meh look for you! Ah'll have to hurt you if it comes to that. And before you say it (pervert), this ain't going to be the good kind of hurt!" Rogue looked around when she received no response. "This isn't funny, Swamp Rat! You better quit it right now!" Still nothing. "Remy?"

... was just fine. In fact, he would have been laughing his ass off if he was not presently swimming far beneath the surface of the water and looking up at the swimming girl above him.

Since the sun was directing light right above him, all he could see of Rogue was a dark, but oh-so curvaceous silhouette. He stared at her gracefully floating in the water for as long as his held breath would allow. Just before the pressure became unbearable, he began swimming upward. Before he broke the surface of the pond, he gave a gentle tug to Rogue's hair. He was pleased with himself when she let out a shocked shriek.

Free from the water, he could openly laugh at her. In retrospect, that was not a very good idea, considering how very easy it was to anger her. Quickly recovering from her start, Rogue turned around ready to slap him silly. Water slows people down, or, at least, it's supposed to. So how is it that Remy LeBeau was still faster than she was? He effortlessly dodged her with a smile not moving from his face. Oh well, if I can't wound him, I'll have to settle for the next best thing, she thought.

She raised her arm up high behind her, and brought it forward, quick and strong, through the surface of the water. It was Rogue's turn to laugh at Remy's re-drenched face. His eyes were shut instinctively and he was opening and closing his mouth, not ready to speak. His eyes opened slowly and his lips tightened into a thin line. Rogue contained her laughter behind a closed-lip smile, but her shoulders shook with a few bouts that nearly escaped her. Their eyes remained linked to each other, as they both anticipated the other's next move.

And then it began. Where the water had once been calm, it became a torrent of white foam. What were these two doing? Having the ultimate splash fight, that's what.

Rogue could not have noticed through all the splashing water in their faces, focusing on staying above the water, and the laughter they shared, how close Remy and she were becoming. And not only as friends; neither noticed how physically near he was to her very naked skin.

When they both felt a need to catch their breaths, they became silent and relatively still but their smiles remained. It was in this of calm where, for a brief instance, Remy stopped breathing. He simply could not focus on something so trivial like allowing air to enter his lungs when he was looking at Rogue wet. The concentrations of water that clung to her skin shimmered like diamonds in the sun. Her hair was shinier, her eyes were brighter, and her lips were pinker, fuller, and softer.

Rogue found herself quite entranced by him as well. His cinnamon colored hair clung to his forehead, and she wondered how he could resist the temptation to swipe it out of his face. She had never pondered his skin before, but now she found herself thinking about how soft his face looked saturated in water. Her nipples grew hard when she saw how his red and black eyes were devouring her appearance.

Her finger reached forward to touch the roots of his hair that lined his face. Gently, she pushed the small locks of his wet hair away from his face. He stared at her intently and did not tell her how much he wished that her hands would move lower to touch his face.

Admittedly, Remy wondered why Rogue touched him so freely, yet still so carefully. For once, there were absolutely no barriers between the two of them; nothing to protect her from him. He could easily reach out and touch her and she implied nothing about her not wanting him to do so. Why, he had to ask. It dawned on Remy all at once. I've made her forget, he thought with an overwhelming amount of awe and pride. I've actually made her forget for a while.

Remy should have reminded her that their close proximity could be potentially dangerous, possibly fatal even. He should have immediately put some distance between their bodies, both of which were already a hair's breath away from contact. But Remy also should have never taken up smoking and drinking. He never did have a good track record of taking advice about how to protect his health. Why start obeying what he _should _do now?

Remy raised his body slightly so that his collarbone and part of his chest were exposed. Rogue's eyes lowered for a brief second, long enough to see that his own nipples had tightened into hard points as well. The water that he had just been wading in now formed tiny rivers that ran over the ripples of his arms and pectorals. He was towering above her, so she had to look up to see his eyes. Her lips parted softly when his face began to move closer to her. Both their eyes remained open as she began to move up towards his mouth. They both closed their eyes just when Remy was close enough to see the drops of water that clung to her eyelashes.

XXX

I cannot believe how flippin' paranoid that girl can, Kitty thought furiously as she swam further and further. Does she honestly think that I would be reckless enough to touch her?

Kitty was fairly enthralled, which would make a fine excuse later for when she was asked why she didn't smell brimstone when Kurt ported a few feet behind her. She definitely heard his splash when he dropped into the water and did not resurface immediately. Kitty turned, flipping her wet hair, and looked around. She could see Remy and Rogue in the distance but they were barely visible through a cloud of white foam. Looking around, though, there was absolutely no sign of Kurt. Oh no, thought Kitty, that does not spell good things.

"Kurt?"

When there was no response, she turned around again. This is weird, she thought, I could have sworn-

Something grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her down until the water was just above her collarbone. Just as she began to scream, whatever it was that grabbed her, released her. Kitty raised herself above the surface just in time to see Kurt emerge alongside her, laughing his ass off.

Fury very quickly replaced fear, and Kitty's primary motivation became wounding Kurt. She managed to swat his bicep and shoulder a couple of times before he tired of being struck and grabbed her waist and pressed her tightly against him. Kitty squirmed against his fur, still trying to lay a few punches on him.

"You jerk! Why do you keep scaring me when you know that I'm already on edge!"

"Kätzchen, vhat are you talking about?" Kurt asked, looking confused but still amused nonetheless. "I have been a good little elf and have refrained from pulling any tricks on you up until now."

"Oh, don't play that 'innocent little elf' game with me. You did it just last night when you came into my tent and-" Kitty stopped talking abruptly when she remembered the entirety of that incident.

"Vas? Keey, I didn't come into your tent last night."

"Yeah, I know you didn't." Kitty replied, her blush starting to form.

"Then vhy did you say that I did?"

"Um... stupid me, I was confusing you with someone else."

"Oh, so there are other dashing blue elves who make night visits to mein Kätzchen. I knew it all along."

Kitty giggled slightly and ducked her head into the crook of his shoulder so that he would not see how pink her face was becoming. When she subconsciously pressed her body closer to his, she remembered something very important: that both of them were currently very naked. Kitty only then realized that her bare breasts were pressed firmly against his chest and that his thigh was sandwiched right in between her legs. Her tiny hands clutched his muscular back as a new wave of embarrassment washed over her. She was suddenly so attuned to the parts of his body that were touching the parts of her body. His three-fingered hands were placed strategically on her back; one between her shoulder blades, the other soundly resting on the small of her back. His tail had wound itself soundly around her waist. Kitty was almost positive that her entire body had been set on fire when her nipples began to harden. Oh God, please don't let him have noticed that!

"Keety? Are you all right?" Kurt asked, his amused tone replaced with concern.

Kitty did not answer and tried to push her chest back slightly and turned her head to look away from him.

Kurt cocked his head to the side before he realized that since his tail was around her waist, that he administered some degree of control. How interesting.

Kitty almost began to panic when she felt herself moving around to face Kurt. How...? Oh my God, that sneaky little elf! Kitty thought as she looked down and saw Kurt's tail pulling her around to his front. Politely, he kept her submerged to just below her collarbone; the problem Kitty was having was not with her breasts (for once) but with her face.

"Kätzchen?" Kurt asked, dipping his head slightly, bringing his face unavoidably close to Kitty's.

Kitty focused her eyes downward; it was not enough that she already felt naked whenever he looked at her, it had to be that she was literally nude right then to make her feel as though his eyes were peeling away her skin, muscle, blood, organs, bones and staring straight at her soul. She had not realized how close he had come to her until she felt his forehead press against hers and the bridges of their noses bumped against one another.

"Keety." Kurt said, somehow softly yet firmly at the same time.

Kitty regretted almost instantly meeting his eyes. There was no hiding from the look he leveled her with. She could feel his breath brushing her mouth and the bow of both their upper lips just barely grazing together. They were so close to each other that she almost missed him grinning before he pulled her body closer by way of his tail.

Kitty had to make a small squeak in her mouth when she felt very bare breasts brush so lightly against Kurt's furry, yet hard chest. She felt that she should have been pushing him away but somehow her slender, toned legs found themselves wound around his waist. He drew in a breath quickly when his brain connected exactly what part of her was right above a certain part of him. If her hips moved just a little bit lower...

Kitty wrapped her arms around the back of Kurt's neck and hid her face in the crook of his neck. There, now he can't see my face (and I don't have to look him in the eye). She chose to ignore the fact that their naked bodies were one step away from sex and be embarrassed about it later. She felt his furry, thick fingers trail down and up again in the stretch of delicate skin between her shoulders before his hand reached up and began to smooth her water saturated hair away from her face. It was when his fingers lingered longer than he had intended to test the softness of a strand that framed her face that she removed herself from his shoulder and looked at him.

The tips of their noses were touching. Kitty had to smile when she saw how unkempt Kurt's hair had become after being immersed in the lake. Using one of her hands, she smoothed some of the clinging locks of hair that stuck to his forehead and temples. The subtle movement of Kitty barely shifting her face to look at the upper half of Kurt's face caused their noses to part and her lower lip to press lightly against the skin right above his upper lip. He shifted his eyes upward to look at her. Kitty curiously returned his gaze.

She drew in a breath sharply when she saw the way that he was looking at her. The unapologetic awe. The adoring worship. The raw temptation. It was too much for Kitty to handle. She wanted to look away; hell, she wanted to run back to her room and hide under her bed but that was most certainly not in the cards. Their breaths mingled together as his mouth began to draw closer to hers. A quick glimpse at his parted lips caused her eyes to become lidded as she drew her own full lips down to meet him...

XXX

Back on dry land, Matilda was trying to pay attention to what was occurring in the scenario she had so skillfully constructed but that was proving to be more difficult than usual because she was suddenly confronted with her only exploitive weakness: discarded clothes messily strewn across the ground.

Matilda would not describe herself as a quirky girl. Eccentric? Sure. Different? Definitely. Unique? Aren't we all? But quirky? Most certainly not. That is not to say that she is not without quirks. One in particular that drives her crazy, but try as she might, she cannot deny the urge to neatly fold every discarded piece of laundry that she may come across.

"Ignore it, Matilda. Your couples are frolicking naked in a pond, the sexual tension is thicker than J-ello instant pudding, you are two steps away from wrapping up this case, don't blow it all because you feel a compulsion to carefully fold each piece of clothing you find messily strewn across the floor. I don't need the laundry!" Matilda shouted, raising her fist to the sky. She laid flat on her stomach and watched her foursome; Remy and Rogue were engaging in a fun looking splash fight while far into the middle of the lake, Kitty was held impossibly close by Kurt. Matilda should have squealing as though she were just told that her Christmas bonus of that year would be Lord Byron reading to her his poetry while giving her constant shoulder massages. But she just could not bring herself to squeal. The laundry... its siren song called to her.

"Heeding the call!" Matilda, shouting to no one in particular, shot up and sprinted over towards the kids' discarded clothes. With a dizzying swiftness, she scooped up Remy's shirt, Rogue's bra, Kitty's socks, Kurt's boxers, the girls' thongs, the boys' pants, and every other garment she could hold in her little arms. Remy's trench coat and Kurt's duster remained where they were on the ground because they made her load heavier than what her strength tolerated. Spying a large rock at the edge of the woods, she figured it was a place where she could still see the pond but could at least sit comfortably.

She plopped down and with a practiced efficiency, she began to carefully fold each article of clothing. "Foldin', foldin', foldin'... foldin', foldin', foldin'..." She sang to the tune of "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'" as she folded. So consumed was she in her folding that she didn't even notice her couples about to kiss. So consumed in each other's eyes, her couples didn't even notice a tree which stood at the opposite end of the lake begin to tip over. Everyone present noticed the tree, though, when it crashed into the lake with a loud splash, roots and leaves intact.

The kids' attention was immediately diverted to the tree that just re-coated them with water. Matilda gave a startled screech and clutched her pile of laundry to her chest defensively. A few unnecessary breaths later and Matilda had collected herself enough to actually analyze what had just happened.

"I don't believe this. A tree fell down in the middle of a forest... and people were around to hear it... so it actually fell. What are the odds of that happening?"

"Slim to none." A deep, sexy voice replied from behind her.

Matilda shrieked, dropped her laundry, and turned fast. Her startled demeanor faded immediately

"Puck? Oh my God, don't do that! I'm used to being alone in here!" Matilda said, bending down to pick up the clothes she dropped.

"My apologies, oh fair love spirit." Puck replied with a bow. Matilda allowed a rare blush to stain her cheeks and a not-so-rare girlish giggle to escape her mouth. It was hard to stay mad when a six-foot mountain of total gorgeous man was standing before her. Puck had a face and body so chiseled that it could potentially shame Adonis. Even though his physical appearance was beyond that of a normal person, he appeared human, save for the dark amber colored skin that covered his muscles, his all black eyes, and shoulder-length wavy hair that was so dark a green it would have resembled black except when the sun revealed the green highlights. He was naked except for a strategically placed loincloth composed of moss, grasses, vines, and leaves.

"Eh, you're forgiven, oh-so-gorgeous forest spirit." Matilda still held her laundry as she stepped closer to Puck. "So... this a business... or pleasure matter?"

Puck's face turned into a frown. "I'm afraid that there is no time to indulge in the pleasures that the earth and body have to offer, lovely Matilda. This forest is no longer safe for the living creatures that dwell here. I am in the process of moving them to safer ground."

"Hirane, right?" Matilda said, quite glumly.

"The council is aware of his presence and yet they do nothing?" Puck asked a bit hotly.

"They sent me, Puck." When she saw Puck's non-believing face, she laughed. "Please, no need to hide your disappointment on my behalf."

"Oh, forgive me, kind spirit of love. I was only of the mind that you did not involve yourself in matters of darkness." Puck replied, kneeling so that he could look Matilda in the eye.

"Yeah, normally you'd be right. See, I got this assignment involving these four kids-"

"Four? I always believed soul mates ran in twos."

"They do. I just happen to be dealing with two pairs of soul mates, who happen to be X-Men and- oh no!" Still clutching the clothes close to her, Matilda ran back to the pond just in time to see Rogue, Remy, Kurt, and Kitty swimming towards each other to meet halfway. "Oh my God... did they kiss or not? Oh, probably not. A tree falling would kind of interrupt the mood. Grr... if only I'd been paying attention."

"Do not blame yourself, wise bringer of love. You are not the only one upset by this turn of events." With that said, Puck held up one of his hands and put it close to Matilda's face. Her tiny features lit up in a sad smile when she saw the bird nest that he held, complete with a mother sparrow and three newborn babies.

"Aww, was that tree your home?"

"It was home to many. It was also a fine, tall, old tree with deep roots and many memories. Now, it lies alone with only death to look forward to."

"Did the tree just get knocked down accidentally during the evacuation efforts?"

At this, Puck scoffed. "Of course not. We managed to catch the real culprit. A pathetic, hideous beast who even I will admit seemed a bit whiny-"

"Wait a minute- pathetic, hideous, _and_ whiny? Did this beast happen to be wearing a tacky yellow argyle sweater?"

"Matilda, how did you know that? Have you developed a new gift of premonition?"

"No, but I did just crack open a fresh case of whup-ass. I need to see this guy of yours immediately. May I?"

"Absolutely. I shall lead the way." As Puck led, Matilda remained behind him. It turns out that there was no back-piece on Puck's loincloth to cover his _extremely_ well developed backside.

"God, three gorgeous man asses in one day... is this a record for me? Oh no, wait... I forgot about that one time in Greece." One reminiscent giggle later, Matilda and Puck stepped into a clearing where a herd of squirrels, skunks, chipmunks, and chinchillas had spread eagled a tall, lanky, ugly fellow who was wearing a familiar looking yellow argyle sweater.

"Doug! What are you doing?! I distinctly remember telling you last night to get lost." Matilda shouted. She was standing over him, her feet planted on either side of his torso. Her hands were placed threateningly on her hips as she leaned in close to his face, her tiny nostrils flaring.

"Um... well, I... I did do what you told me to do... at first." Doug winced when Matilda growled her response.

"At first?" Through gritted teeth she said.

"You see, the minute I got back to the company, the one who commissioned this assignment told me to head right back down."

"How convenient." Matilda said, rolling her eyes.

"It's the truth! The paperwork is all in place back at the office."

"A whole lot of good that does me. Private commissions are guarded by the Gladys and Abner act. You know perfectly well that myself or any other spirit is not allowed to view such documents."

"Wow, you weren't just bragging when you told me that you had all of our bi-laws memorized."

"Puh-leeze. I'm the one who wrote up and proposed that bill. I'd be shaming myself if I didn't know it, back to front." Regardless of the fact that he was pinned to the ground by a small girl and several tiny woodland creatures, Doug gazed at Matilda awe-struck with a glazed smile on his face. "Oh, and Doug?"

"Yes, Matilda?"

"Tell your tiny soldier to be at ease because I will always turned _off _in your presence."

Doug glanced down at his groin; either a squirrel had crawled into his pants or he had an incredibly, extremely, supremely _tiny_ erection. "Whoops. Sorry Matilda. Like I said on our first date-"

"I know what you said on our _only_ date: that you are most aroused by our company bible and me. So when I start talking about the bi-laws-"

"It is the hottest thing ever."

"Yeah-huh. Well, if you recall correctly, I am most aroused gorgeous men and neck massages. You offer neither, so quit with your pathetic attempts at innuendo. You've got a lot to answer for, because today you broke more than a few laws."

"What are you going to do to me?" Doug asked, sounding scared at first. A tick later and he raised his eyebrows and smiled suggestively. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Eew." Matilda shuddered with a grimace. "Sorry to disappoint you and your pervy self, but your main offense today was the murder of a tree. That does not fall under my jurisdiction; it belongs to the real man who stands behind me." With a jerk of her thumb over her left shoulder, Doug noticed Puck for the first time.

Puck stepped forward and motioned East with his arm outstretched. The furry little animals began moving to the East, ignoring Doug's protests as they dragged him along. Matilda and Puck watched them until they blended in with the distant soil on the ground.

"We will try him and his punishment will be dire. When he has served his sentence, I will send what is left of him to you for your own judgment."

"Always the gentleman, Puck." Matilda replied, casting a sideways glance over at the god-like spirit. Grinning quite sensuously, she said, "How about we put that chivalry to more productive uses, eh?"

Just as the Love Spirit was about to rub her hands up his perfect chest, the handsome Forest Sprit took a reluctant step away from her. "Oh, gracious, lustful spirit of love, you will never know how much force it requires for me to be able to resist you. Before I can indulge in pleasures of the flesh, I must be sure that no lives are lost. Their needs must come before my own wants."

Matilda sighed and relented. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Greater good and all that jazz."

"Seems such a shame really. This would be an opportune time to be lecherous, since I discovered that this wood has sprouted a bush of sinful delight." Puck said, looking glumly at a small, rich green bush that was growing behind him.

"Oh, really? What is its harvest?" Matilda said, glancing at the bush curiously. Her eyes practically bugged out of her skull when she saw the bush's red and brown blossoms.

"It seems that this bush has grown an assortment of chocolate covered strawberries." Puck said, not nearly as enthralled with the bush as Matilda was. "It's a shame to allow anything that grows from the earth to go to waste."

"Yes, yes, a real tragedy that." Matilda muttered, feeling the moisture within her mouth increasing dramatically.

Realizing that her attention had been entirely diverted away from him, Puck chuckled and wrapped an arm around her teeny, tiny shoulders. "You astound me, remarkable love spirit. You have won the respect of all the elementals, and yet your heart is still that of a child's. I think the world would be a darker place if you were not here to give it light. Farewell."

"Bye Puck. Hey to the other elementals." Matilda said, returning his half hug. Puck stood and walked off into the wood with a few birds following behind him; he did not realize that he was giving Matilda a fantastic view of his glorious buttocks. After Puck had vanished from her view, Matilda began to turn back to the lake to return to her kids, but... the bush was still there. She could not ignore the glistening red of the strawberries and the rich chocolate that coated each and every piece of delectable perfection. Matilda quickly slapped herself; sadly, she was still wondering what each piece of fruit would feel like as the ripe flesh of one of those strawberries would be pierced by her teeth, and how the creamy chocolate would melt within her mouth and coat each and every inch with its sweet taste. Slapping herself usually worked when she needed to not be thinking of bird watching, the stock market, leave-in conditioner, classic muscle cars, and country music... but it could never, ever work when she was confronted with the irresistible allure of chocolate covered strawberry goodness.

Shrewdly, Matilda darted her eyes to her left and right. "They... they've been on their own for a good ten or fifteen minutes... they should be fine for one strawberry." Giddily, Matilda bounced over to the bush and carefully picked a strawberry off the top. Smiling contently and gazing lovingly at the little morsel of fruit, Matilda closed her lips around the confection of strawberry and chocolate. Her eyes rolled back in ecstasy as she said, "Oh my God. It's like there's an orgy of cupcakes and butterflies going on in my mouth." Even after chewing and swallowing slowly, the heavenly taste of the piece of ambrosia passed. Matilda looked around to be sure that she was alone. "That one was so small, that it was like a half of a whole one. I can just eat one more and it'll be okay." She grabbed a fatter one and chewed it down. She contemplated all the other lonely strawberries still left on the bush. One moment of indecision later, and Matilda began gobbling each strawberry down with one final thought about her subjects: "They'll be fine for a few minutes."

XXX

A tree falling down in the lake that you happen to be swimming in always will be a total mood killer. Rogue and Remy parted and looked at each other with an expression of shock and frustration. They had, after all, only been an inch away from a kiss. Kitty, however, had shrieked and jumped a little. Because she had all her limbs wrapped around Kurt at the time, jumping (even just a little) caused her to raise her body a bit. She only realized a second later that she had raised her perky virgin bosom right out of the all concealing water and flat straight into Kurt's face.

Kurt's eyes went wide when he felt the soft flesh surround his head. Since he found himself unable to move his body (save for the mechanical kicking of his legs to keep them both afloat), he had to draw the assumption that his face was buried right in between the space between her breasts; he dared not move his head a centimeter to see if he was right.

Kitty had never felt this humiliated in all of her sixteen years of living. Neither of them could see it, but both Kitty and Kurt had their eyes opened so wide that they were about to pop out of their skulls and bob on the watery surface. Kitty's face turned bright, bright, bright, bright, _bright_ red at the prospect that Kurt has seen her breasts. What she didn't know was that Kurt was pressed so close to her skin that his vision was limited to what was right in front of him; all he could make out in front of him was a blurry beige-peach mass.

Kitty slowly lowered herself down into the water and disentangled her limbs from his; Kurt kept his eyes trained forward until Kitty had the water guarding her modest bits once more. They shared a nervous, awkward smile before Kurt nodded his head in the general direction of Rogue and Remy. "You vant to-"

"Yeah, yeah." Kitty agreed quickly. Separately they paddled back towards their friends.

Remy and Rogue both looked off in the distance where the tree had fallen. Simultaneously they sought each other's gaze out of the corners of their eyes.

"That was weird."

"Oui." Remy agreed, not fully positive what it was exactly she was referring to.

Remy pushed the hair off his forehead until it was slicked back off his face. Rogue really tried her best to not stare, but no one can really blame her for doing so; Remy LeBeau looked so beautiful wet that he probably shamed most men on their best day. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Why could she not experience this man herself? Had she not paid for her sins already? Was there more for her to atone for? Did she not deserve to have what she wanted? She had worked herself to tears; refusing to show them to Remy, she tightened her mouth and swallowed a few times. The tears stilled in her eyes.

When Remy looked at her again, he thought that he might have seen her eyes shining. He was about to ask her whether she was crying, but he was overwhelmed by an insistent urge for her not to be mad at him again. He told himself that the sun was reflecting in her eyes, making them shimmer. He was almost able to let it go.

Kitty and Kurt had finally reached Rogue and Remy after Remy had just removed a leaf that had become caught in Rogue's hair.

"Are y'all gettin' pruney yet or is that just meh?"

"I take it you want to get out, Rogue?" Kitty said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, as eager as y' may be t' get a move on, Remy don't think gravity b' on our side."

The four teens looked up at the rock that they had jumped off of not so long ago. The small cliff loomed over them casting its shadow over their faces.

"Okay, how about Kurt ports up to get our clothes? Kitty and Ah can go change, and then y'all can get dressed."

"And then we'll be on our way." Kitty said excitedly.

"Vell, that cannot vait." Kurt said before porting to the top of the rock. He peaked back over his shoulder to be sure that none of them were getting an eyeful of his bare bum. When he was satisfied that none of his friends could see him, Kurt readied himself to collect their clothes.

What… was all Kurt could really manage to coherently think when he saw his duster and Remy's trench coat lying strewn across the ground… with none of their other clothes in sight. All that was left was their coats and shoes, but no socks. How… who…? Kurt just couldn't wrap his mind around this conundrum; at least, alone he couldn't. He promptly ported back into the water, surprising the other three.

"Kurt? Ah thought you were going to-"

"Um… ve may have a problem on our hands."

"Y' mean, a problem besides bein' lost in a forest, miles away from civilization, and no way to alert anyone dat we even lost? A problem besides all dat?"

"… Jawhol, another problem."

"What kind of problem, Kurt?" Kitty asked, concerned like everyone else was with whatever else could go wrong that day.

"I… I really am not sure how to explain this. But… vell, um…" With a frustrated shake of his head accompanied by a growl, he ported again, leaving his friends looking very confused. He returned just as quickly, holding his and Remy's coats high above his head with his tail.

"Kurt, what are y' doin' wit'-"

Sensing that Remy was verging on an all-out panic attack at seeing his precious coat in danger of getting soaked, Rogue asked, "What are you doin' with those coats, Kurt?"

"In addition to your shoes, these… vell, these are all that vere up there."

His friends looked at him blankly for a moment. Kurt chewed his lip nervously under their stare. It was Kitty who finally spoke.

"You're… you're joking, right? Tell me you're kidding."

"Yeah, Kurt, that really is not funny." Rogue said, shaking her head at her brother.

"I'm not kidding." Kurt said, motioning for the three of them to move forward. Remy and Rogue took hold of one of the coats that Kurt held high above his head, while Kitty placed her hand on his blue, furry shoulder. Kurt focused and teleported the four of them to the top of the rock. The group was confronted with the conundrum that their clothes (save their shoes) were, indeed, not there.

"Okay, Kurt, where did y' put our clothes?" Remy asked, after grabbing the only article of clothing available to him. He took the first his fingers came into contact with; turns out, the first thing his fingers came into contact with was Kurt's black coat, which he placed strategically in front of his manly bits before either girl could catch a glimpse.

"I didn't take them!" Kurt defended, wrapping his tail around his own blue genitals modestly. "Vhen vould I have had the chance to take them? Keety, you can verify that I vas vith you the entire time ve vere in the vater and I vas only up here for a second. If I had really hidden your clothes, I vould have needed more time." Kurt then looked down at himself as though he was noticing something for the first time. "Plus, I'm naked too!"

"Yeah, we can see that, Kurt!" Rogue said harshly. You would be angry too if you had only a trench coat to cover you and your best friend.

"Don't yell at me, Rogue! Do you think I vanted possibly the vorst thing that could happen to us to actually happen?"  
"You're right, Kurt. Being stranded in the middle of the wilderness is nothing more than a fart in a hurricane when compared to being stranded in the wilderness buck-ass naked!"

"Rogue, this _is_ the worst possible thing that could happen!" Kitty interrupted the sibling banter.

"Vhat? Vhy?"

"Kurt, don't you see… the compass and the map were in our clothes!"

"W're… y' mean, we're really… fuck, we're really lost now, ain't w'?" Remy stammered out.

"Understatement, LeBeau. As usual." Kurt said, gazing ahead at the space in front of him, allowing his shock to set in.

"All right, panicking and self despair is not going to help us get home. The map had us going a steady northwest, so I think that's probably our best bet." Kitty said, trying to be productive.

"Oh mah God, this is the part in _The Blair Witch Project_ when things got really, _really_ sucky."

"Hey, ve agreed last night to keep that kind of talk to a minimum, ja?" Kurt said, looking worriedly at Kitty.

"Fine." Rogue said dryly to her brother. "So we get even more lost when we start walking northwest; it still doesn't explain how every article of clothing that we had on our backs suddenly vanished."

"Guys… clothes do not just get up and walk away. If they're not here, then where are they?" Kitty posed, doing her best to keep a reasonable distance from Rogue's skin while hiding their nude forms underneath Remy's coat.

"Maybe some kids came along and stole them." Remy offered.

"Or maybe some crazy little invisible spirit who has been following us around has an obsession vith folding laundry and took them avay." Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "Remy, ve are in the middle of a forest; vhere vould there be kids?"

"Well, whenever Remy's clothes got stole when he go skinny dippin' before, it always was some group o' annoyin' kids. He just speakin' from experience."

"Nice." Rogue glared. "Ah told y'all that this was a bad idea."

"Well, I guess it's too late to tell you, 'Don't say, I told you so.'" Kitty replied dryly.

"Okay, we just wastin' time now." Remy said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Funny, you're the one sayin' that-" Rogue was interrupted by a Remy who was being as serious as he could manage while being naked.

"Yes, Rogue, Ah screwed up. Dis whole thing was mah idea, it's mah fault dat we're all still naked, and Ah fully shoulder de blame." Remy looked at Rogue challengingly. "Now, dere be more important issues at hand den whose fault it is… seem t' recall a certain fille' makin' dat exact same point earlier t'day."

Everyone was struck at how serious Remy was being. Rogue was even more struck by how Remy had managed to throw her own words right back into her face. For a moment, they all forgot the fact that they were standing a quarter of the way from naked in the middle of the woods and their clothes were missing while they still had a ways to walk before they reached camp. They remembered quickly enough when a breeze from the lake reminded them by tightening their nipples.

"Okay, so… what do we do?" Kitty asked, looking at each of her friends briefly.

"Well, Remy and Kurt both said they wouldn't mind walkin' back the rest of the way naked." Rogue said, voicing the irony aloud.

"'Cept now w' don't really got much choice in de matter, huh."

"Vhat?! Ve can't just show up at camp completely naked."

"Kurt, what choice do we have? We can't waste time looking for our clothes. An animal could have picked them up and used them for a nest, for all we know." Rogue said, gazing upward.

"Plus, it's not like we'll be showing up totally naked." Kitty said, motioning downwards at the coats that covered their otherwise bare forms.

"That reminds me…" Kurt said, trailing off as he turned towards Remy. Before the Cajun could inquire about what was on his blue compatriot's mind, Kurt reached out and snatched his black coat away from Remy's genitals.

Fortunately, Remy managed to place both his hands (and he most definitely needed both) in front of his private bits before anyone got a good look. "What de hell was dat?!"

"You vere putting _mein_ coat on top of _your _groin!"

"Well, would y' rather b' faced wit' de full monty?!"

"Hey! Y'all remember 'no fighting?'" Rogue admonished.

"Yeah, why can't you just share the coat?" Kitty suggested.

"Nuh-uh!" Both Remy and Kurt proclaimed, looking insulted (and stubborn).

"Look, we've got two coats and four people to divide them between. Kurt, can't you just give Remy a sleeve or something?" Rogue asked.

"I am not going to be anyvhere near him vhile naked."

"Plus, Remy gonna need a lot more den a sleeve t' cover him up." Everyone rolled their eyes at Remy's insufferable smirk.

"Okay, fine. Maybe Remy and I can share the trench coat and Rogue and Kurt can-"

"NO!!" Rogue and Kurt both protested loudly.

"But why-"

"If I cannot be naked vithin the same coat as Remy, vhat makes you think I vould villingly be in the same coat naked vith mein _sister_?"

"Oh yeah. Well… I guess there's only one solution left then." Kitty looked at her friends knowingly.

No one needed to say it aloud.

"Okay… Kitty, you go get in there with Kurt and Remy, you come over here."

"Shouldn't you turn around?" Kitty said, looking at Kurt pleadingly.

"Dat goes fo' y' too chere."

"Feelin' shy, Remy?" Rogue replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Non, thought y'd like de benefit o' not turnin' dat pretty shade o' red, but if y' really don't mind-"

"Fine. Ah'm turnin' around." Rogue said as she turned to hide that shade of red that Remy was just referring to. I can't believe he noticed the color I turn when I'm embarrassed, she thought. I really can't believe that he _likes_ the color I turn when I'm embarrassed.

Kitty looked meaningfully at Kurt and then Remy. "I think maybe I should go first." Remy backed up behind Rogue and Kitty so that they could not see him and politely turned so he could not see them. Kitty looked at Kurt's back and some of his legs, which was all that was visible to her. He had his coat loosely wrapped around his hips, but his tail was free. She could barely see the top of where his buttocks began to vanish into the black of the coat that covered him. Ignoring the burning sensation coursing across her face, Kitty phased through the trench coat that covered she and Rogue and walked quickly over to Kurt. She phased through the wool and found her front pressed tightly against his back. Both youths stiffened (in all meanings of the word) and Kitty tried her best to place some distance between the areas where their skin touched. It proved to be somewhat of a vain attempt since the space within his coat only allowed so much movement. They managed to keep exactly one inch apart but the coat was stretched to its limits with a lone button in the front being all that protected Kurt's manly area from total exposure and even that single button felt strained.

"Okay, your turn." Kitty called over to Remy.

Still covering his private parts with his hands, Remy walked up behind Rogue and momentarily paused to study his coat hanging loosely over her form. Her pale shoulders were visible from where the trench coat was too large to remain in place. He realized that this would be the first time he had ever seen her bare shoulders. He also realized just how close he was about to be with her naked body. Suddenly, keeping his genitals covered with only his hands was proving to be a challenge.

Breathing in and thinking disgusting thoughts, Remy lifted up the edge of his coat and prepared to join Rogue within its confines. Predictably, Remy received an unforgivable view of Rogue's naked bottom. Not even thoughts of the Blob naked could hold back his arousal. Quickly shoving those thoughts aside, Remy pulled his end of the coat up and over his head until he was able to share the neck of the garment with Rogue. Given the ample yet limited space that they had within the frock, Remy was able to maintain a safe distance from Rogue's deadly skin.

All of them situated in the clothes to the best of their ability, Rogue managed to vocalize every feeling coursing through their adolescent, hormone abundant bodies. "This is so freakin' awkward."

"Amen to that. But at the moment, ve are not able to come up vith something better." At Kurt's statement they all nodded their agreement, and began to walk quite awkwardly, as they now had to be mindful of four legs each, instead of two.

"We are never going to hear the end of this when we show up back at camp." Kitty stated, looking at all of her friends in the eye as far as she could crane her neck.

"Ah can't say Ah'm looking forward to that." Rogue replied.

"Remy think he always gonna wonder…" He paused as he looked around as though the answer would fall down right in front of him. "What de hell coulda happened t' our clothes?"

XXX

Sometime Later…

If she were a smoker, Matilda would have definitely named this an occasion that called for a cigarette; she truly was _that _satisfied. She was leaning against the bush of sinful delight (now completely devoid of chocolate covered strawberries) smiling pleasurably as she ran her hands lightly over her now slightly rounded (but still quite tiny) tummy. Releasing a contented sigh, she spoke. "That was awesome. Probably one of the highlights of this mission for me." Matilda sighed once more, a little sadly this time as her responsibilities beckoned to her. "Well, I guess it's time to get back to work." Waddling a bit as she rose to her feet, she noticed her pile of the kids' folded clothes.

"Oh yeah. I forgot I was folding those. Crap, I hope those four haven't noticed their clothes are missing." Gathering up the clothes as fast as her little arms could manage, she teleported back to the pond where she had last left her subjects. She was somewhat startled to see that said subjects were nowhere in sight.

"Now where could they have gone?" She furrowed her brow in annoyance as she pulled out her pocket watch. "This is ridiculous. I couldn't have been gone that long- HOLY CRAP!!" Matilda's eyes bugged out at the time reading on her watch as she shouted. "I just spent the past three and a half hours eating those things!" Matilda began to feel a twinge of guilt for what she had done, but that feeling was swiftly eroded when she recalled the sweet sensation of chocolate and strawberry melting in her mouth. Her face hardened to a resolve when she raised her fist to the sky. "And I regret nothing!" She declared. Her resolved look melted into a panicked one when she realized how far ahead her subjects had become. "But still… I really need to hurry if I want to catch up!" And with that, she was off like a stampede.

XXX

"Ow!" Kurt yelped.

"Sorry! I really don't mean to keep giving you all these flat tires!" Kitty winced.

"I know, Kätzchen. It's just mein odd yet very unprotected feet don't stand much of a chance against your Converse, it seems."

Since their shoes had been left behind by the clothing thief, the three who could wear footwear (poor Kurt) were all about protecting their feet from the harsh forest floor, regardless of how difficult it proved to be to actually put on their shoes while maintaining their modesty within the confines of two shared coats. And yes, they realized how comical they looked wearing nothing but coats and shoes.

"Perhaps ve could svitch places for avhile, ja?" Kurt posed with a hopeful smile.

"I would, oh Fuzzy One, but your coat is kind of low-cut in the front, and that really wouldn't work with me, if you catch my meaning."

Oh, I catch it, Kitty, Kurt thought. I can't say I'm opposed to it, though. "Ja, ja." He said, dismissing the issue.

"Remy LeBeau, quit dancin' with death!" Rogue shouted suddenly at her coat buddy.

"Didn't even lay a fingertip on y'!" Remy shouted back.

"Ah felt something!"

"Could've been a leg hair!"

"It felt longer than a leg hair!" Rogue shot back over her right shoulder.

"Oh." Remy said meekly. Smiling nervously as his face turned red, he added, "Den it probably was anudder kind o' hair."

There was no denying the fact that Rogue looked positively horrified and disgusted. "Eew! More space!"

"Hey, de coat's already at its limits! Don't push it!"

"Well then, let's just bust a button-" Rogue said so calmly that it was actually quite shocking that Remy would reply with such a loud, despairing wail.

"Nooooo!!" As Rogue checked to be sure that he had not popped her eardrums, both Kitty and Kurt looked at Remy rather strangely. Feeling sheepish (well, sheepish for Remy) he embarrassedly said, "Ah've had dis coat since Ah was five." The further perplexed looks he received encouraged him to offer more. "Had t' grow int' it some."

"_Some_, Ah'm sure." Rogue said dryly as Kitty noticed the odd, sporadic, jerking motion that seemed to encompass Remy's entire body.

"Remy, why are you twitching?"

"What? Remy not twitching?" Remy tried to smile as his body twitched again.

"Uh… yes, you are."

"Yeah, you are. And it's jerkin' the coat, thus annoyin' the crap outta meh." Rogue said, glaring unabashedly at Remy.

"So why are you twitching?"

Kurt smiled knowingly and looked back at Remy. "Vhen vas the last time you had a cigarette?"

Both Rogue and Kitty said "Oh" as they smiled at Remy.

Remy, in turn, shut his eyes in shame as he answered, "Not since last night."

"Wow, I'm surprised the nicotine withdrawal took this long to kick in." Kitty said, laughing a little as she spoke.

"Hey, Ah can quit whenever Ah want!" Remy said a little too loudly to be believed. "Remy just don't want to."

"Uh huh. Well then, just think of this as a great opportunity for you to quit. 'Cause you're obviously not gonna find any packs of death sticks out here." Rogue said, glancing back at Remy.

"Yeah, you're not getting any sympathy from me in that department. Those things are gross."

"And you get no sympathy from me." Kurt thought about it a moment longer. "At all."

Remy smiled sardonically at his traveling companions. "Dat's nice. Always good t' know y' can rely on y'r friends t' help y' through an addiction."

"Oh, don't start, Remy."

"Hey Rogue, think an arm hair might be touchin' de small o' your back."

"Keep this up, LeBeau, and Ah will flush every pack of cigarettes you got at home, including that little baggie of weed that you don't want the Professor to know about. Oh, and by the way? You are very lucky that Logan wasn't home last week because even Ah could smell it on you."

Kitty and Kurt looked at one another when they grew bored of watching the two others banter. "Are you thinking vhat I am thinking?"

She nodded. "This is going to be a _long_ trip."

"That vas vhat I vas thinking."

XXX

"Okay," Matilda panted as she charged through a bustle of bushes, "If my calculations are correct (and they're never wrong), then the Unpredictable, the Rodent, the Devil, and the Feline should be right about-" Matilda cut herself off as she took in the sight before her. She rubbed her eyes; she could have sworn that she just saw a four headed tan and black creature. When she opened her eyes again she was greeted by the vision of two heads sticking out of only one black mass. Matilda squinted her eyes at the pair of two headed blobs and uttered the only word that was running through her mind. "Jabberwocky?"

"Kurt!" Head # 1.2 said to Head # 1.1. "Watch where you put that thing!"

"Sorry Keety, but mein tail vill become cramped if I do not stretch it out sometimes. Vhere it goes is not entirely up to me."

Matilda's small shoulders sagged in sweet relief. "Oh, thank God. It's just my four subjects sharing two coats. For a second there, I thought that I had finally cracked under the pressure." Further observation reminded her of the reason why her four subjects were sharing two coats. Matilda looked down sheepishly at the neatly folded clothes that she held in her short arms. "Damn. There's no easy way out of this one, is there? I mean, if I just step out and hand them their clothes, they will be questioning why their laundry is floating in mid-air. I guess it's not hurting them to walk back naked. Of course, that might prove to be distracting and awkward for all parties involved." Matilda sighed as she looked to the tree covered sky as though the answer will drop down in front of her. "Well… I guess there's only one thing I can do: Climb up a tree, drop their stuff down in front of them, and hope for the best."

And so Matilda climbed up onto the strategically best located branch and laid out flat on he stomach. She grimaced in anticipation of the fallout and winced her eyes shut as she allowed the bundle of clothes to drop to the ground below her.

Both Kurt and Kitty were startled by the descent of an object dropped right in the middle of their path. The two of them stopped too quickly to give an adequate warning to Rogue and Remy, who both plowed into the collective backs of Kurt and Kitty. Fortunately, Remy was able to veer to the left a bit so that he would not make direct contact with Rogue's naked backside. As he did this, he questioned why he always had to make the smart choice when it came to Rogue instead of the choice that he really wanted to do.

"Okay, Ah think it would probably be a good idea if we didn't make a habit out of that." Rogue grumbled.

"Guys… vhat vould you say vould be the most crazy, most unexpected, most unlikely thing ever?" Kurt posed.

"Boy bands making a comeback?" Kitty replied.

Kurt did not reply with words; he simply moved a bit to the side so that his other three compatriots could see what he saw. Rogue and Remy leaned to the left to peer around Kurt, while Kitty chose to simply phase the top third of her upper body through her blue friend's chest.

A mask of perplexity enshrouded all four of them as they beheld their missing clothes, neatly folded and lying on the ground in front of them. As if they had choreographed it, the foursome slowly turned their heads to look at one another, just to be sure they all were on the same page. Barely tilting their heads, all of them turned their eyes upward. Once assured that there was nothing above them, their attention returned to the ground. It was Rogue who finally spoke.

"Does anyone else have the _Twilight Zone _theme song playing in their head?"

"Oh yeah." Kitty agreed, her eyes darting around, searching for predators.

"How in the vorld did-"

Kurt was interrupted by Remy, who said, "Y' know what? Let's not question it; let's just take it as a blessin' an' move on."

"But-" Rogue stopped herself when she realized that she had nothing to follow the "but." She shook her head, and said with finality in her voice, "You're right. Let's just get dressed and get goin'."

"Right." Kitty nodded and began to phase through the back of Kurt's coat. She stopped suddenly when she remembered that Remy was standing behind her. "Will you two turn around, please?"

Both the Cajun and the German rolled their eyes as Remy carefully stepped out under his coat and Kurt ported some distance way from his female compatriots, muttering under his breath, "Here ve go again."

XXX

Meanwhile, a certain Love Spirit was hugging an extremely fluffy pillow labeled "Matilda's Huggy Pillow- Use only when faced with situations of extremely high stress." She continued hugging her pillow for a good five minutes before releasing it and replacing it within her pocket of air. Leaning back against the base of the tree, she breathed deeply and stared at the sky.

"I really didn't think it was possible to have a string of mini-heart attacks in under a minute. But, lo-and-behold, it is." Matilda peered over the side of her branch at her four subjects redressing as fast as they were capable of. "Well, I guess everything worked out okay. I mean, besides the fact that they just had to spend the past three and a half hours walking about half-naked in the open wilderness. Other than that, they're fine." Matilda's eyebrows then furrowed as a thought occurred to her. "A thought just occurred to me. Three and a half hours is a long time. I mean, it's not a hundred years 'long time' long time, but it's still pretty long. So it makes me wonder… what have Logan and those kids been up to?"

Matilda searched the sky for the sun and saw it begin its descent into the horizon. "The sun will be setting soon. I'm sure they would have reached the summit by now; not even Logan lacking limbs (hee, alliteration) would stop him when he's determined. But if he comes back to camp before nightfall, he still has some daylight to come looking for the kids. If I can just give them one more day ahead of him, the chances of the awesome foursome being found too soon are slim-to-none. This means only one thing: I have got to put Logan out of commission for the rest of the night." With a solemn look on her face, Matilda took a small vile filled with a mysterious yellow liquid out of her great, big pocket of everything. "I had hoped that I would never have to use this. But only the most horrible force in the universe can stop the Wolverine." Narrowing her eyes and swooping the skirt of her dress around like it was a cape, Matilda, the mighty Spirit of Love, said, "Let's get dangerous."

XXX

At last! Logan was very tempted to shout at the top of his lungs. He had been walking since the early morning, had endured the complaints and whining of several annoying teens and pre-teens, survived two bizarre attacks from the animal kingdom, was tired, aching, bee-stung, itching, and covered with fire-ant bites, but none of that mattered; they had finally reached the summit and all was right in the world.

It could have just been the long anticipated relief that flooded his adamantium-laced body, but he swore that the summit was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. Even without Logan's somewhat exaggerated feelings towards the place, the summit was lovely. The trees surrounded the flat plane on the side of the mountain and the setting sun painted the sky pink, red, and orange as it disappeared behind an adjoining hilltop. Below the summit, one could actually see the trees that coated the mountain. In fact, they had not been there that long before the students were looking over the ledge of the summit at the sudden dip in the mountain that created the deep valley below them.

"Dang, Ah'd hate to take a spill down there." Sam said, peering over the edge of the summit.

"No kidding. I wouldn't- Jamie, get off of my leg." Rahne deadpanned.

"No! Gravity has never been kind to me!"

"What?" Both Rahne and Sam asked at once.

"If I let go, somehow I'm going to trip and fall to my bloody and gruesome death. Impalement by sharp rocks? No thank you!" Jamie declared wrapping his whole body tighter around the full length of Rahne's petite leg.

"Jamie, come on! What are the odds of that really happening?" Sam said, assisting Rahne in plying Jamie off of her limb.

"Probably as much as the chances are of a beehive falling on Mr. Logan's head!"

"All right, that's enough of that." Logan growled, pulling Jamie up by the back collar of his sweatshirt and t-shirt. "Let's not be reminded of bad luck and other like unpleasantness." Logan waited until the throng of young persons had given him their full attention, with his back to the edge of the summit, the setting sun bathing him and his sore form in varying shades of gray. "Alright, listen up! Now that we're up here, training can finally begin. We start with one hundred squat thrusts, and then we move into a swim upward stream and-"

"Wait a second-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-"

"Hold up just a cotton-pickin' minute-"

"What?" Logan asked with innocence painted on his face.

"Didn't we just spend the whole day hiking up a _mountain_? Now you want us to do more physical activity? Tabitha asked incredulously.

"Yes." Replied Logan simply and without any shame.

"Um… What about the unbelievably long hike up the mountain?" Ray asked, raising his hand.

Logan smiled maliciously. "A warm-up."

Almost every student's mouth dropped open. All of them were so flabbergasted that no one noticed the little girl sporting a heavily padded protective suit fitted to her measurements appear within a cluster of trees that lined the summit's peak. Raising the protective mesh screen that guarded her face, Matilda studied the small vile, which contained the mysterious yellow liquid. Her lips tightening into a grim line and her facial expression most solemn, she said, "God help us all." Taking out a spray bottle, she poured the contents of the vile into this new bottle and sealed the spray function top. She looked at the bottle for a moment before turning her resolute eyes to Logan. With a deep sigh, she said, "Engage."

"Mr. Logan, it is not natural for fifteen and sixteen year olds to suffer from cardiac arrest!" Roberto whined, clutching his hand to his fast pounding heart.

"I don't see any of you runts keeling over, so I don't see any reason why you can't engage in some low intensity basic training."

"Low intensity?!" Jubilee squealed.

"Mr. Logan, with all due respect, you've had a taxing day and I'm sure being forced to endure the complaints of such lowly and weak adolescents has not improved your current state of being much either." Amara drawled most diplomatically, blatantly ignoring the glares of her peers about being referred to as "lowly and weak adolescents" and focusing entirely on a somewhat flattered Logan. "Do you not think that by forcing yourself to endure even more physical challenges that you are inadvertently rendering yourself into an irreversible state of exhaustion? Personally, I think that we could all be rid of our fleshy coils if we were to allow ourselves a period of rest for the night, which could be easily accomplished by returning to camp and-"

"Whoa, go back to camp? I ain't hurt that bad."

"Mr. Logan, not even the beestings have gone down." Bobby reiterated.

"Yeah, well, I think I may have been allergic to bees anyway before my mutation kicked in, but I don't feel anything going numb so I'm not too worried."

Everyone was so busy either complaining or (in Logan's case) getting pissed that no one noticed a certain Love Spirit (you-know-who) circle around Logan a few times, continuously spraying him with the yellow contents of her bottle. Shaking her head with amazement at the level of her own audacity, Matilda backed away from Logan slowly after the bottle was emptied of the liquid.

"Mr. Logan, I just know that I'm getting a cramp in my leg. It tends to happen when my lungs are deprived of oxygen and that's when I-"

"Jamie, shut up." X-23 shushed, clapping her hand over the little one's mouth. "Rahne, Logan, you smell that?"

"Yeah." Rahne looked confused after testing the air. "There's a female in heat really, _really _close by."

"And it's coming from…" Logan, Rahne, and X-23 sniffed around the air in their immediate space until both Rahne and X-23 looked curiously at Mr. Logan, who too looked curiously at himself. "Me?"

"Gee Mr. Logan, you smell just like a-"

"Anyone know why the ground is shaking?" Bobby interrupted Rahne, looking at his vibrating feet. It was then that they all noticed that the ground was, indeed, shaking. Logan smelled the air once more. That's weird, he thought once he realized that another foreign smell was originating from the thick cluster of trees that lay before them. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that smelled like a bunch of-

Logan's visage went from contemplative to terrified when he realized exactly what it was coming their way. Matilda leaned over closely to Logan's ear and said, "You might want to get these kids to higher ground."

"Mr. Logan, what's going-" Jamie asked, tugging on Logan's arm.

"Everyone. The trees. Now." Logan said firmly, his claws popping.

"Wait, I don't understand-" Alex asked, stepping forward.

"Get up into the trees now!" Logan shouted suddenly. The students were startled and thus froze in place. "Go!" Logan shouted to remove them from their stupor.

When the Wolverine says "jump," the only question asked of him should be "how high?" When Logan brandished his claws in a battle stance, every student there ran back towards the trees where they promptly pulled themselves in among the wooden limbs. After lifting Jamie into a tree, Rahne turned in an attempt to return to help Logan; Sam stopped this when he roughly lifted her by the waist into the tree that held Jamie, before joining them both himself. Only X-23 remained unmoved by Logan's side. "You too, X." He growled from the side of his mouth at her.

"But I'm more than ready for-"

"Trust me, kid. You ain't ready for _this_." He nodded towards the trees where the other students had taken refuge. "Go!"

X-23 looked disappointed as she joined her fellow classmates in the sanctuary of the treetops. Logan snarled and braced himself for the inevitable.

"God, what's coming?" Jamie whimpered to his two other companions. Sam had wrapped his arms protectively around Jamie and Rahne.

"Ah dunno, but it must be pretty bad if it's got Logan freakin' out. Rahne?" Sam looked at the Scottish girl expectantly. "What is _it_?"

"Only the most horrible, powerful, and terrifying force to roam the land." Rahne replied, bracing herself against the tree and Sam.

As soon as the words left Rahne's lips, the rumbling in the ground increased and the rustling in the trees and bushes announced _their_ arrival. Carefully, each one of the students peeked down to catch a glimpse of the terrifying horde that was presently charging straight towards Logan.

"Oh…" Jubilee gasped.

"Mah…" Sam whimpered.

"God…" Roberto proclaimed.

"It's horrible…" Tabitha whispered.

"It's ghastly…" Rahne exclaimed.

"It's…" Ray trailed off.

"_**BEAVERS!!**_" Jamie wailed, just as the swarm of beavers burst from the trees and encroached on Logan.

The Wolverine was more than ready with his claws to slice and dice some beaver ass when Matilda stepped down from a tree branch and appeared sitting atop one of Logan's hulking shoulders. "Come, come, Logan. Is it really necessary to slaughter all of your woodland brethren just because they're a horde of ravenous beavers?" Logan's eyes darted about with uncertainty as he stared at the charging woodland animals. "You're not so different from them, you know. They too are hairy all over and have an appetite for severing limbs from a central core with sharp, pointy protrusions of their bodies." Just when they were almost upon Logan, he bit his lower lip and retracted his claws. And then they were upon him.

From the perspective of the students, it looked like a giant, moving beaver ball. The only way that they could tell it was Logan underneath that sea of beavers was by his strong, hairy hands that had managed to poke through the vicious little creatures and wave about as madly as they could manage with several dozens of beavers attacking him. That, and his distinctive high-pitched squeal.

"Should we… do something or… something?" Rahne pondered, as she looked on at Logan with terror evident on her face.

"Are you kiddin'? Ah had a neighbor who owned a dog that only had three legs because of a beaver! No way am Ah messin' with one." Sam replied, passionately.

"What's happening?!" Jamie wailed. Rahne and Sam had both placed one hand over each of the boy's eyes.

When Logan gave a particularly painful sounding yelp, Rahne and Sam winced a "nothing" to Jamie.

Meanwhile, Matilda watched Logan repetitively run from one end of the summit to the other, covered from head to foot in a flurry of beavers with a pained grimace on her face. Even she had to question just how much his healing ability could endure. "I'm pretty sure his eyeballs have had to grow back at least twice by now." She reached into her great big pocket of everything and readied something in both of her small hands. "Better be ready for the recoil." Matilda angled her body a bit and then pulled out Logan's savior. "Yoo-hoo! Boys!" Matilda called to the beavers, holding up high a two-foot tall and three-feet wide chunk of tree trunk. The swarm of beavers paused in their attack on Logan to notice the oh-so-enticing piece of tree. When she was positive that she had the beavers licked, with all of her might Matilda threw the chunk of tree trunk far, far back into the woods.

One by one, the beavers jumped off of Logan and followed the scrumptious-looking tree trunk into the forest. The students, who had seen no chunk of tree trunk, looked on astonished as the small woodland animals ceased their attack on Logan.

"I don't believe it." Bobby uttered.

"What made them stop like that?" Jubilee asked to no one in particular.

"What if this is just like _The Birds_? What if this is just the first in a series of apocalyptic attacks by a swarm of beavers?" Ray asked, almost fearfully.

"Oh my God." X-23 breathed, sounding horrified. The other kids looked up at what she was gaping at, only to gasp with terror themselves. Enough beavers had leaped off of Logan so that most of him was revealed to the eyes of the students. Though the most gruesome of his wounds were healed, Logan was covered from head to foot in bee stings, fire ant bites, and now beaver tooth marks. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped open in shock. Were there any more torments that could possibly befall on him?

Just one more. The final beaver (who happened to be somewhat on the small side) to flee from Logan's form was perched atop of his head. In order to leverage his little squirrel-self properly, he had to scurry halfway down Logan's forehead before pushing off with his hind-legs and bounding across the ground into the trees. Unfortunately, this little push caused Logan's balance, which was already precariously off-kilter, to lose footing entirely. He wobbled backwards, and before he could properly center himself, he dropped back first off of the ledge of the summit.

The first sound to enter the students' ears was, of course, the beginning of Mr. Logan's descending wail. That sound, though, was briefly interrupted by the pronounced RIIIIP that came when Logan's jeans got caught on an unfortunately placed branch and were ripped clean off of his body. The scream that he had unleashed lasted only as long as the time it took for his skull to connect with a rock that jutted out some from the mountain. After a grunt of pain (and the synchronized wince of the students), Logan resumed both falling and screaming. That was, until, his back connected with another large stone protrusion of the mountain when he let out a piteous groan. The kids' faces were set in a permanent grimace as Logan quit falling and began tumbling down the declining curve of the formation; the students were still clinging to their safe haven in the trees, so all they could hear of their teacher's plight was a continuous series of grunts, groans, wails, and moans as he rolled and tumbled down the remaining mountainside. The shared agony of all parties involved finally came to an end when something soft-sounding broke Logan's fall with a not-so-soft sounding thud.

Silence enclosed on the summit. The students just barely stretched their necks to full-length to see if it were possible to peer over the ledge where Logan had just fallen. It was another thirty-two counts of doing this before any of them realized that they should probably move. Piotr was on the ground first and aided Tabitha and Jubilee in getting down from their respective tree, just as Roberto and Alex hopped down themselves. Warren flew to the ground with an arm wrapped around Amara's waist, followed by X-23 dropping smoothly to her feet. It was a good thing that X-23 had reached the ground when she did, since she caught both Ray _and_ Bobby when they both unceremoniously fell out of their tree. After Sam touched down and lifted Jamie from the limbs of their tree, he reached up and helped Rahne get down by placing both of his large hands at her waist and lifting her the rest of the way down. Rahne steadied her hands on Sam's shoulders as she was lowered from the tree. With all the students planted firmly at their various centers of gravity, they all shared a grave glance; it was a unanimous, unspoken thought that was dominating the air. Every boy, girl, and child there knew… they just knew that they would have to take a _look_.

It was X-23 and Piotr who both began to inch forward toward the ledge. Since the others matched their hesitant pace, it took a good minute and twenty-four seconds to finally reach the ledge just enough to peer over. Readying themselves with winces on their faces already in place, carefully, slowly, and all together, they looked down.

"Ooooh." All of them moaned in sympathy upon seeing the state of Mr. Logan. He was lying spread-eagled flat on his back in a patch of something green at the bottom of the gorge… and he was completely, totally, unforgivably stark naked.

The kids were so overwhelmed with wonder and terror and sympathy that they forgot to shield little Jamie's eyes from the sight before them. His little blue eyes were stretched to their maximum capabilities in astonishment. "Whoa…" He breathed, before his face contorted into a joyous, excited, wide grin. "Is that what _I'm_ going to look like when I finally become a man?!"

For the first time in the previous five or so minutes, the students thought about something other than a naked Logan lying spread-eagled at the bottom of a gorge. Though Jamie was looking about at each of his companions excitedly, their gazes remained steadfast on the boy with a combination of disgust and awe. Sam was the one who finally found his voice. "Focus, Jamie!"

"Yeah! Mr. Logan has just been mauled by beavers, tumbled down a rocky cliff, had his trousers ripped clean from his body, and he's fallen flat on his naked back into a- oh my Lord." Rahne gasped suddenly in the middle of her tirade. "X-23!" She whispered harshly to her left. "He's fallen flat on his naked back into a patch of poison ivy, hasn't he?"

"Yep." X-23 replied simply giving the others time to marvel at the idea that one person could be subjected to so many torments during the course of a single day. As they contemplated whether even the normally unflappable Wolverine could survive such an ordeal, Jamie leaned over the ledge just a ways, used his little hand to magnify his voice, and began to holler, "Mr. Logan-" but he was cut off when Sam suddenly yanked him away from the edge by the boy's shoulder.

"Jamie, whatever the hell you do-"

"Sam…"

"Ah'm sorry for cursing in front of Jamie, Rahne. But whatever you do, Jamie, _do not_ ask Mr. Logan if he's okay."

"But why not-"

"Because…" Sam stated slowly through grit teeth. "… we already know the answer to that question, obviously."

Jamie opened his mouth as realization dawned on him. "Oh…" Jamie drawled out slowly. "Right, I get you. Because he's so clearly _not_ okay, it'd be a little redundant to even bother asking him if he is okay- right." As Jamie rambled on, Sam rolled his eyes, tossed his hands up, and looked to Rahne, who merely shrugged in response. Meanwhile, something else caught Jamie's attention, causing his eyes to light up and a new smile to adorn his features. Reaching down, grabbing this item, and holding it as high as his arms and height were capable of, he shouted down towards where Logan lay, "Mr. Logan, great news! We found your pants, and now instead of being a mere pair of trousers, they're a great big giant piece of fabric!" Jamie was so excited as he held the gigantic piece of denim as high above his head as his young arms could manage that he did not even notice the multiple palms connecting with the various foreheads of the collective students.

"Why do we even let him speak?" Roberto asked everyone as his eyes shut in embarrassment.

"Kids." A deep, broken voice groaned from beneath their feet.

Jubilee winced as she leaned a little further over the ledge as she replied, "Yeah, Mr. Logan?"

There was a pause as Logan gathered what little strength he had left to speak some more. "I think that's enough training for today." Logan paused to hack up some blood. "We can head back to camp now."

Every student there was wise enough to bite back the replies that sat at the tip of each of their tongues. Instead, they tightened their lips and nodded slowly at the broken Canadian lying below their feet.

Rahne smiled weakly and said, "Good thinking, Mr. Logan."

"An excellent choice, sir." Amara called down.

"Guys…" Bobby posed to everyone and no one. "How are we going to get him back up here?"

All of the children looked at one another with a shrug before slowly turning their attention towards Piotr's direction. The Russian looked into the faces of each of his fellow classmen before turning to see if there was anyone behind him. Realizing that there was no one, he turned back to the others and said with a roll of his eyes and a helpless sigh, "Why is it always me?"

Not so far away, a sympathetic little girl was looking down towards the Canuck rather glumly. "I want you to know, Logan," Matilda called down using her small hand to project her voice, "that I took absolutely _no_ pleasure in doing that to you. I have no problems with you or your character, but sometimes I get pushed into a corner where I have to do things that I absolutely hate doing." Matilda moved away from the ledge and tutted with her mouth as she shook her head. " I really, truly, supremely did not enjoy that." She looked back at the children mobilizing to help their teacher and sighed one last time. "I think I probably shouldn't mess with them anymore tonight. They're definitely not going to be thinking about the subjects anytime soon after the day that they've had. Speaking of, I should probably check in on them one last time before night falls; I need to make sure that they have rest and shelter before they face Hirane tomorrow." Just before she vanished into the wind, Matilda said amazedly, "Just goes to show ya that you really never know when the occasion will call for female beaver urine."

XXX

Kitty was humming. When forced to walk for extended periods of time, it was only natural for someone to create a little rhythm to bounce to. What she did not notice was that her little ditty was infectious to her three other compatriots.

"East bound and down, load it up and truckin'…"

"Is this the real life or is this just fantasy…"

"Life is a highway, I'm goin' my way…"

"That, that don't kill me, will only make me stronger…"

The four of them paused briefly in their paces to look at each other. They all granted one another a small, embarrassed chuckle upon realizing what they were doing.

"Do you guys feel like we need a soundtrack too?" Kitty asked as they resumed walking.

"This situation does seem just as crazy as one of those Romantic/Adventure/Comedies." Rogue replied.

"Does anyone else have songs in their heads vhen ve are forced to fight?"

"Oh, yeah. When we were fightin' the Acolytes for the first time," Rogue looked at the back of Remy's head. "Ah had 'Bodies' by Drowing Pool playin' in mah head."

"Vhen it vas us against the sentinel, I had Tantric's 'Breakdown' playing on a loop in mein mind."

"I totally had Bang Gang's 'Move It' in the back of my head for the sentinel too."

"Alvays vith the dance music, Kätzchen." Kurt sighed with a melodramatic roll of his eyes that earned him an unconvincing glare from Kitty, considering that she was pursing her lips in order to keep back a smile.

"Ah guess you're not quite as musically inclined, huh Remy?"

Remy darted his eyes downward to hide the momentary discomfort that flickered across them at hearing Rogue's comment. Though Remy's silence lasted only a brief moment, it seemed too long to Rogue for him not to answer such a trivial question. When he looked back at her at last, his face was masked with a nonchalant grin. "Kid Rock's a good one t' listen t' while pullin' a job."

Rogue rolled her eyes as she chuckled, "Figures."

"Hey, y' try not t' feel like a total badass when y' burst through a window wit' 'Cowboy' goin' through y'r head."

Rogue was about to be snarky, but a sudden clash of thunder impeded her attempt at snark.

Four extremely different pairs of eyes connected in panic. Kitty managed to fit in a pained pout before the next beat when they all began yet another mad dash through the trees.

It had become considerably darker since they had to find shelter from the rain earlier that morning, making a place to keep dry a bit more difficult to locate this time around. When they felt one drop of water, then three, then seven hit their heads, they made their efforts just a bit more earnest. Rogue was the one who spotted a makeshift arch made out of large overgrown earth and two or three strategically located trees. She looked behind her to be sure that Kitty was still close by (they had had a few close calls with losing Kitty that day, after all); upon seeing that her friend was near, Rogue's grabbed Kitty's wrist and pulled them both beneath their temporary safe-haven.

When both girls were seated on the ground under their cover is when the rain began to come down by the bucketful… it's also when Kitty noticed that neither Kurt nor Remy were anywhere to be seen.

"Rogue, where are the guys?!" Kitty turned to Rogue, looking scared.

Rogue felt stupid for being so fixated on keeping track of Kitty and not even noticing that they had lost track of the boys. She abruptly stood and was about to walk back out into the pouring rain when Kitty grabbed the back of Rogue's jacket and shirt and roughly yanked her back before she could get any further.

"Rogue, we just made a mad dash to keep from getting wet again!"

"But the boys-"

"Right. Kurt!" Kitty called, using her hands to magnify her voice. "Kurt!"

Following Kitty's lead, Rogue began to holler as well, neither girl stepping back into the cold shower coating the earth. "Remy!"

Both of the young women yelled for the two young men at the peak of their vocal capabilities, but it was proving to be difficult to make their voices carry over the sound of the rain.

Five minutes of calling for Remy and Kurt went by with no response from either male. Both girls were about ready to run out into the rain to look for their friends when the smell of smoke and brimstone suddenly wafted through their nostrils from behind them.

Both Rogue and Kitty were ready to run full pelt into their boys when they turned towards the direction of the smell, but they managed to restrain themselves when they saw the sight that greeted them.

"Kurt, I was so worried-"

"Remy, where did you-"

Both girls stopped speaking when they got a good look at the boys. Plus, they were interrupted by an endless tirade of very angry sounding German. The German speech, of course, coming from Kurt, who was interjected only by Remy periodically saying, "Remy said he was sorry."

The girls could make a fair guess about what Remy was apologizing for. Both he and Kurt were coated head to foot in a thick layer of fresh mud. Kitty was struck speechless at the sight of her muddy friend verbally abusing the Cajun in a manner that employed every part of his body. Rogue, meanwhile, carefully turned Remy to face her, somehow managing not to get one bit of mud on her.

"Remy, what… how… what…"

Remy got the gist of what Rogue was trying to phrase. He looked uncomfortable and embarrassed as he post-poned answering her. "Remy, he… well, Remy slipped."

"Yeah, Ah… uh, Ah figured that out mahself. But, um, how did…" Rogue trailed off as she motioned towards Kurt, who was still ranting and raving in German at Remy while Kitty was doing her utmost to calm her furry, muddy, blue pal down.

Remy looked at the ground behind Rogue as he tried to formulate a response. "Well, y' know it's a natural instinct in human bein's t' reach out an' grab somethin' when dey're fallin'?"

"Yeah…" Rogue replied slowly.

Again, Remy hesitated before replying, clearly uncomfortable with this situation. "Well, it just so happens dat Bleau was right in front of him when he slip."

When Remy paused, Rogue waited for him to continue. She was surprised when he did not offer anything more.

"So…" She prompted.

"So… Remy follow human instinct an'… an' he reach out an' grab de first thing he see in front o' him."

Rogue narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to comprehend exactly what it was he was telling her. So he reached out and grabbed whatever was in front of him, she thought, but Kurt was in front of him, so that means- ohmygod.

Rogue looked pained as she looked at Remy. Remy looked pained as he looked back at Rogue. "Remy, tell meh you didn't."

Remy winced as he replied, "He did."

Kitty spun around to look at Rogue and Remy. "You yanked Kurt's tail?! Oh my God, he absolutely hates that!"

Remy looked Kitty in the eye as he replied promptly, "Merci, Chaton. Remy think he noticed dat by now."

Kitty rolled her eyes with a "whatever" at Remy's sarcasm and returned her attention to Kurt, who was still going strong with his German tirade directed at the Cajun in question. Her eyes became sad when she saw Kurt's beautiful blue fur clumped and marred with the wet earth.

Kurt did not notice Kitty's facial expression as he made a feeble attempt to advance on Remy, which was put to rest by his friend simply pressing both of her palms lightly against his chest. With only her gentle touch, Kurt stopped speaking and looked down at the blue-eyed beauty.

"Kurt." Kitty said softly, sounding beautifully close to a dove cooing. "Did Remy yank your tail?" Kurt looked uncomfortable before he nodded slowly. "Hard?" Again, he nodded with his lower lip protruding out slightly. "So hard that he brought you both down into the mud, and your fur is now all clumpy along with your sore tail?" He nodded once more, with his eyes looking at her pathetically.

Kitty smiled gently and kindly at her friend and held out her hands, palms up, towards Kurt. Shifting his eyes uncomfortably, he slowly brought his wounded tail forward and laid it across Kitty's open palms. She examined the appendage with scrutiny and felt saddened upon seeing the dark purple bruise visible under the sparse clumps of mud that clung to the fur of his tail.

Kitty gently cradled the spade of his tail in one hand and used the thumb on her other hand to gingerly wipe away the mud on the bruise before she raised the wounded spot on his tail to her mouth and pressed her full, soft lips to the bruise.

Kurt's entire body went numb at the feeling of her kiss. He would have felt worried about that if he had not felt completely light-headed at that moment. Kitty smiled that signature impossibly bright, impossibly sweet smile of hers as she released his tail from her hands.

"Better?" She asked. He managed to bring himself to nod once more. "You should probably test him out to be safe. Just to make sure that he still functions properly and all."

Kurt nodded in agreement and took a step closer to her. He swished his tail around behind her and used the spaded end to flick her right earlobe and then her left. As Kitty giggled madly while covering both of her ears, Kurt used his tail to attain his true goal. With Kitty distracted, Kurt's tail fiddled with the knot her hair was tied in. Just as she noticed what he was doing, he had managed to loosen the knot so that her hair was released. Kurt was almost positive that his heart was about to stop. From where it had been twisted into a knot all day, her hair tumbled down to her shoulders and beyond in a cascade of shimmering brown waves that looked soft to the touch.

"Kurt!" Kitty scolded as she reached up to pull her hair back once more.

The moment her fingers touched her hair, Kurt remembered how to use his voice and reached out his hand to touch one of her wrists. "Don't." He said. Kitty looked confused which prompted him to clarify… quickly. "It's… um… it's cold out tonight and if you kept your hair down, you'll be varmer." Kitty looked at him skeptically but lowered her hands nonetheless. They smiled at each other then, unaware of everything other than the other.

Rogue had a small smile on her lips as she watched Remy watching the exchange between her brother and her roommate. She marveled at his face but at its handsomeness. Remy usually remained stoic, choosing to hide his emotions behind a select few cocky facial expressions. But when he thought that no one was looking… Rogue was allowed entrance to see a vast wealth of emotions flow across Remy's face as seamlessly as water flows across pebbles in a stream. From a small shift in his eyes to a subtle curve in his lips, Rogue saw Remy look on at Kitty and Kurt with amusement, sadness, and just a hint of envy present always. It was not until Kurt had Kitty giggling with her ticklish ears that both Rogue and Remy felt like trespasser to an act as intimate as lovemaking. It was something that they both knew they would never share with one another or anyone at all. Shifting their feet and looking away in discomfort, Rogue finally noticed that Remy was covered in mud. _Really_ covered in mud.

Where it was caked on the most was on the front of his coat, shirt, and pants. The rest of him was smudged somewhat where he had most likely rolled onto his back. But Rogue could not take her eyes off of Remy's face. Even with smudges of mud marring his features, his attractiveness managed to be shown through, quite miraculously. He actually looked kind of adorable, like a little boy who had been playing in the mud all afternoon only to be called in for supper by his mother. She briefly wondered if this appearance was anything like Remy when he was a child. Rogue could not restrain her smile and could barely contain the fit of girlish giggles.

"What is so funny?" Remy asked, clearly offended.

"Nothing." Rogue managed to choke out. "Nothing, Ah swear."

Remy was obviously not convinced, but was preoccupied with noting the damage done to his trench coat, carefully fingering the muddy lapels. Rogue felt a pang of sympathy, knowing the care Remy doted upon his coat. Deciding that fun at the Cajun's expense could wait, she stepped into his personal space and pushed her glove covered hands into either side of the inside of his coat and began to slowly, gently, and carefully ease her hands up towards his broad shoulders.

Remy was suddenly hindered from any extraneous movement upon feeling the warmth radiating from Rogue's hands permeate his chilled body. His eyes became fixated on her glove-covered hands, which began to trail upwards from his chest, over his collarbone, to skim lightly across his shoulders. It was at his shoulders where she began to push gently at the fabric of his coat with the back of her hands until the shoulders of the overcoat rose off of his body. Very gently, she slowly peeled the trench coat from Remy's mud-coated form; he helped her some when it came to the sleeves, pulling out one arm and then the other. With the coat entirely from Remy's body, Rogue turned away from and roughly shook his coat to loosen as many clumps of mud as she could manage. Satisfied that she had done an above adequate job of cleaning Remy's coat as she was capable of doing with the given circumstances, Rogue began to turn towards the master Cajun thief once more.

"Ah think that's most of it. You'll have to get it dry-cleaned when we get back home- oh." Rogue stopped talking, thinking, breathing, when she saw a very shirtless Remy giving his shirt a treatment similar to the one she gave his coat only moments prior. Had she been able to focus on anything other than the stunningly beautiful Cajun man, she would have seen Kitty holding Kurt's coat and cargo pants, as well as her blue brother stripped to his blue box-briefs as he roughly shook his "Vote for Pedro" free of mud. She also missed Kitty musing to herself that with such form-fitting, blue undergarments, Kurt looked something like a giant blue Ken doll (if Ken was adorable and fuzzy and had a tail, of course).

Rogue's distractions increased ten-fold when Remy undid his belt and began to step free of his blue jeans. She almost missed what he was asking her to do. "What?"

"Turn around an' hold dese for a minute."

Rogue did turn around but she looked most perplexed as she did so. "Hold what?"

Remy was behind her and had an arm extended right beside her face before he answered her. "_Dese_."

Rogue was still confused as she turned her head slightly to see what he was talking about. "Oh mah God." She exclaimed, as her face turned a rosy shade of red. Not two inches from her face was the pair of boxer-briefs that had been hugging Remy's tight bottom only moments ago. "You are a sick, sick man, LeBeau."

"Remy not askin' y' t' stick 'em up y' nose an' sniff 'em. Just hold 'em for a minute." Rogue begrudgingly reached up and (with a highly disgusted look on her face) gingerly took a hold of the underwear. "Merci. Now… pardon moi."

Rogue did not dare turn around to see what he was doing. Instead she looked to Kitty, who was also blushing deeply and holding the majority of Kurt's clothes. "What is he doing?" Rogue asked.

"I'm not looking!" Indeed, Kitty was not looking anywhere else other than the spot of ground that was directly in front of her.

"Just gettin' a little refreshed." Remy called back to the girls; he sounded as though he had moved a few feet away from them. That was when Rogue realized exactly what he was doing.

"Y'all are bathin' off in the rain?!"

"How else am I supposed to get mud out of fur?" Kurt called back.

"Both of y'all are going to be freezing to death tonight, you know that, right?"

"Aw, cherie, can't you spare some body for poor little Remy?" The Cajun dared to laugh.

"Ah swear to God, Cajun, if Ah looked at you right now, the glare Ah'd have could bring down a mountain!"

"In the past three days, I have seen more naked males than I have collectively seen in my brief lifetime." Kitty declared, shaking her head.

"Perhaps fate is making up for lost time, eh Kätzchen?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Kitty said in a dry tone that sounded unnatural coming from her. "Didn't think you'd stoop to that kind of humor, Kurt. I'd expect it from Remy, but definitely not from you."

"Hey, have y' forgotten dat whole thing where mah ears work and Ah can hear y'?"

"Would y'all at least hurry up? We need to get a move-on!"

"Move-on where?" Remy asked; Rogue jumped, not realizing how close he was to her back until he had snatched his undergarments from her hand. She still did not turn to face him. "Dis rain ain't goin' nowhere for a long while."

It was another moment before Rogue responded but it was not to the question he had posed. Instead she quietly asked, "You decent?"

It was another moment before Remy answered. "Oui."

Then Rogue turned to see a boxer-clad Remy arranging his clothes neatly on the ground. "Because as soon as the rain lets up, we have to move as fast as we can to the base of the mountain so that-"

"Whoa, Rogue, dere ain't no way we can go any further tonight."

"Yeah! It's dark, it's raining, it's thundering, it's lightning,-"

"It's dangerous." Kurt summed up as he too laid out his clothes (save his boxers) to dry.

"Exactly." Kitty nodded.

"But-" Rogue started but was interrupted by (surprise, surprise) Remy.

"Look, we're tired, Rogue. An' it don't matter if y' admit it t' y'rself or not, but y'r tired too. We got a good shelter here dat will keep us relatively safe until we can roll out at first light." Rogue looked back out at the murky night with determination and some desperation in her eyes. "Dere ain't nobody alive who is of any use to anyone exhausted and runnin' aroun' in de dark in de woods like a chicken wit' its head cut off." Rogue still looked doubtful. "De mountain and de camp will still be dere tomorrow when we wake up. Even if de mountain's somehow gone in de mornin', dat's one less mountain we gotta climb." Rogue and Remy both laughed a little and Remy wiped a strand of Rogue's hair away from her forehead that had become damp with the humidity that surrounded them. "We all need de rest, Rogue. Before y' know it, we'll be back at camp by tomorrow afternoon where de worst of our troubles will be figurin' out how t' deal wit' dose whiny punk-asses. Dat'll make t'day seem like notin' more den a walk in a very large park." Remy waited until smiled (well, a very small smile) and then gently titled her chin up with his sleeve-covered wrist until she was looking him in the eye. "Okay?"

Rogue sighed, but she was glad to relinquish. "Okay."

Kurt was smiling as he allowed himself a gymnast's full-body stretch. "Güt. Now, it's time for mein favorite time of the day." With that, he laid down on the ground with a yawn. At that chosen moment, a very chilly breeze chose that exact instance to move across the quartet. Kurt felt a violent shiver sweep across his body, prompting him to rise up suddenly and wrap both of his arms around his legs until he was mostly curled in a ball.

"Ah told you you'd be cold tonight." Rogue said, as she, Kitty, and Remy sat down themselves.

Kurt was too busy glaring at his sister to notice that Kitty was shaking her head but smiling at him. Without giving him any notice, Kitty scooted to be within a centimeter's proximity to Kurt and wrapped both her arms around his torso and rested her head on the back of his shoulder. Kurt stiffened at the contact before relaxing just as suddenly into Kitty's embrace. She did not say anything; she simply shut her eyes and smiled a little. Wanting to see her, he rolled over while remaining in her arms, wrapping his own arms around her as well. Kurt tucked a lock of her hair behind an ear before resting his head to lie atop of hers and attempted to sleep.

Rogue looked at her sleeping brother and best friend. And then she looked at Remy, who was shivering very exaggeratedly. When he spied Rogue looking at him, he smiled a big, toothy, pathetic, and very sympathy-inducing smile at her. Rogue made a point to roll her eyes (very much directed at him) before scooting closer to him with a reluctant, "Fine."

The moment she was within arms' reach, Remy immediately wrapped his arms around her and pressed his wet face right in between her shoulder blades. Remy did not even notice (much) that his arms had wrapped around her stomach and around her chest (just above her rapidly rising breasts). Rogue had since replaced her denim jacket, so she was not worried as much about the odd chance of accidental skin-to-skin contact occurring. But that did not stop her from shuddering at the warm/cold he brought her skin.

It was a moment (maybe two) before Remy realized how uncomfortable it was to sleep in the position both young people were presently in. Without giving Rogue a proper warning (or any warning, for that matter), Remy tugged them both down to lie flat on the ground; Rogue lying flat atop of Remy's chest. Her head was tucked snuggly underneath his chin, his arms were wrapped tightly around her tummy, her legs were situated within the space between his legs, and her posterior was pressing delightfully, horribly right against his groin.

Rogue went stiff until she could bring herself to say, "What are you-"

"Remy's cold. Be his blanket tonight."

Rogue meant to say something smart, or at least a meek "okay," but her breath caught in her throat and refused to escape. She looked over at her two other compatriots; they appeared to be sleeping peacefully, without taking any notice of her present predicament. She almost laughed at how Kurt's nose was tucked right against Kitty's hair, so that every time he inhaled, he received a whiff of the scent of her rich brunette strands. With a sigh, Rogue relaxed against Remy before noticing her open jacket. She tugged her jacket ends loose from the confines of Remy's arms and then proceeded to button up the length of her coat all the way to the very top button just below her neck. She breathed in deeply and exhaled through her nose; then she settled herself in Remy's arms as best as she could and shut her eyes in a vain attempt at sleep.

The air around them was ripe with moisture from the rain and the electricity that they were creating. It was quiet for several long moments. Rogue was glad that Remy could not see her face; there was no possible way she could hide from him her rose tinted face. Remy, however, was the picture of warring distraught and frustration at his idea; there was no possible way for him to hide his furious erection upon receiving just a scant whiff of the fragrance of her hair. It took every fiber of his self-control to keep his hands from running up the length of her arms to her shoulders. On the bright side, he was beginning to feel warm again as the heat radiating from her form permeated his body. His nose tucked in between a few locks of her hair atop of her head, his arms locked around her waist, and her legs snuggled tight in between his legs, he closed his eyes to attempt sleep.

Kurt Wagner may have managed to close his eyes but he felt utterly foolish for believing that he would be able to sleep. Who could rest when Kitty Pryde's breasts were pressed tight against your chest and her legs were intertwined with yours? Kurt prayed that she could not feel how hard his heart was beating against his chest. He was secretly envious of the young woman, as she had managed to fall asleep without taking any note of his predicament, if the regular pattern of her breathing was any indication.

Rogue had almost managed to reach sleep… but Remy's insistent voice ("Rogue? Rogue, y' asleep yet?") lulled her back to the world of the awake once more. "Rogue?"

"Yes, Ah'm awake… _now_." She replied, keeping her eyes closed to see if sleep would claim her once more.

"Remy can't sleep-"

"An ailment that seems to be spreading."

"-an' he want t' know if y' know any lullabies."

Rogue's eyes popped open when he said that. Her surprise faded into amusement. "Give you a blanket, sing you a lullaby… Remy LeBeau, you need a mother." She was surprised at his silence; she realized after a moment that he was not going to dispute her statement. Feeling guilty, she said, "Ah only know one and you can't laugh at mah singing voice or the fact that it's from _Fraggle Rock_."

She felt his mouth curl up into a smile. "Deal." He stated.

Rogue hesitated a moment before clearing her throat. "_Cold moon lonely as can be_, _sailing where the starlight fades to blue_._ Don't you sometimes feel like me_, _wish the friends you dream about were true_?"

Remy was not expecting her to actually do it. His eyes snapped open at her soft yet soothing and gazed at the sparse patches of night sky somewhat visible through the trees. An absurd thought crossed through his mind then: even if he had experienced a mother, he doubted that her voice would have provided as much comfort and peace as Rogue was able to accomplish with only a few verses of a children's song.

"_And they would sail away with you_, _sail away with you_…"

Rogue felt Remy's breath against her hair become steady and deep.

"_Someday you may tumble down_, _sad because your light is nearly through_. _Moon_, _stay_, _I will search around_, _climb until your light is bright as new_."

Very gently, she placed her hands over his as they remained around her waist. She smiled somewhat and settled herself against his chest. She closed her eyes and finished the song.

"_And then I'll sail away with you_, _sail away with you_. _Sail away with you_, _sail away with you_, _sail away with you_, _sail away with you_, _sail away with you_."

They would both sleep well that night.

"Okay, everyone all together, say it with me: daaawww!" Matilda exclaimed as she gazed downward at her four subjects. She was sitting on top of the crosshairs that the tree branches of the canopy that she had constructed (with the aid of one or two possums). Happily kicking her legs as they dangled from the tree, she leaned over towards the family of quail she shared the branch with and said, "You'd have to be a really soulless bastard to not think that this is the cutest thing ever. I swear, this is so sweet that I need a shot of insulin!" Allowing a few crickets to hop on top of her hands, she sighed, "What a day. My, my, my, what a day." Matilda looked a bit sad as she looked at the four sleeping young people and then up at the mountain looming over them. "I'm glad that they had such a good day today, because tomorrow is going to absolutely suck." She set the crickets down on the branch. "Keep them sleeping comfortably with your song, guys." Matilda looked solemnly at the mountain in the distance. "I'll do what I can to help them, but they're going to need all of their strength and wits about them if they have any hope of taking down Hirane tomorrow." As soon as she had finished speaking, the small love spirit had vanished.

XXX

"Mister Green in the conservatory with the rope."

Hank McCoy reached forward and opened the envelope. With a sigh of defeat, he dropped his blue game piece back on the board. "Ororo wins again."

Charles Xavier growled in frustration as he dropped his plum game piece sloppily down next to his cards. "Why did we agree to play this foolish game in the first place?"

"Because it's one of the few where telepathy won't tell you what the cards say." Ororo said as she studied the cards victoriously.

"Why, I would never use my telepathy to cheat at-"

"Now, what did we wager _that _time?" Ororo directed at Hank, presently ignoring an outraged Charles.

"Lawn duties." Hank stated glumly.

"Oh fantastic! I guess I am exempt from cleaning out the gutters until the next quarter. That brings my winnings up to…" Ororo quickly jotted down a few words on a piece of paper, "four months of someone other than me on dish washing duty, six free passes from cooking dinner, and one coupon valid for receiving a massage from Logan, my choice of body part." Quite smugly, Ororo tucked the piece of paper into a pocket. "A most productive day, indeed."

Hank sighed and looked at his _Get Smart_ wristwatch. "8:30, and I have managed to lose myself to slave labor in a period of two hours and fourteen minutes."

Ororo smiled evilly as she picked up another box. "Anyone up for _Scrabble_? I'd love not to have to do the laundry until next spring."

"Ororo, could we maybe take a break? I need to stretch my legs… or maybe get a shot of whiskey." Hank stated, rising from the hastily assembled lawn chair.

"Foolish, childish game. It does not even require any real sort of intellect anyway." Charles mumbled, his arms folded across his chest as he slumped angrily in his wheelchair.

Hank stepped just outside of the small canopy that had been assembled yesterday to provide cover to the portable card table where he and his two companions had just spent their evening. From the large cooler bucket filled with cold water and melting ice, he grabbed a chilled bottle of water that had been floating on the surface. His large, blue, fur covered hand completely covered the length of the bottle as he took one or two deep swigs. He was partaking in a third drink when he took note of how dark the night had become. "You know, it would be well-past dinner time by now. I wonder how they fared with… uh… Logan's home-cooking."

"Oh, a little game for supper never hurt anyone." Ororo said, stowing the board games underneath the card table.

"I have to wonder, though, why Logan did not even try to contact me to make us aware of his change in plans." Charles pondered, pushing his chair a few feet to stand beside Hank through the recently dampened soil.

"Charles, it's _Logan_ we're talking about. He has a tendency to change his plans from time to time." Hank said, dryly.

"Well, I certainly won't disagree with you there. But when the children are involved, he does assume some amount of responsibility."

"Maybe that shower half an hour ago held them up?" Ororo suggested.

"Perhaps. But I've sensed something else at hand here. It's as though there is a presence in this forest that is placing distant minds _just_ out of my psychic reach. I have to wonder…" Charles trailed off.

"God, it's getting dark." Ororo stated, standing beside Hank with a bottle of water of her own.

"Nighttime is funny like that." Hank replied all smarmy-like, receiving a grudging nudge from Ororo, who still managed a smile.

She grew serious when she said, "Still, Charles is right. It's not like Logan to keep the children out this late. I do hope nothing serious has happened."

"Feh, with this motley bunch?" Hank said skeptically. "If we're lucky, those endangered owls that live here won't be all but extinct by the time these mountains have undergone the experience that is _our_ kids." He exhaustedly rubbed the bridge of his nose in anticipation of the kids' inclement arrival. "I just pray that no one has endured any serious injuries. For once, I'd love to go on a trip that doesn't end with me spending hours administering first aid-"

"FIRST AID!!" A voice bellowed from out of the darkness.

"Oh, sweet Mary mother of-" Hank said exasperatedly.

"Who do you think it is?" Charles asked, wheeling up beside Ororo.

"My money's on either Jamie or Alex. They're both bleeders." She answered.

"Really?" Charles shifted his eyes back and forth. "Would you like to wager one coupon valid for receiving a massage from Logan, your choice of body part?"

"Nice try, Baldy."

"Dr. McCoy, come quick!" A Scottish voice obviously belonging to Rahne called out.

All three teachers rolled their eyes in tandem before walking closer to the woods where they knew the students would emerge from momentarily. "Dear God, I hope X-23 didn't give Roberto 'a warning cut' again." Hank said, clearly psyching himself up for whatever horrors he was about to face. "I'm not in any way prepared to handle missing limbs tonight."

"I just hope Tabitha didn't pull a 'cherry bomb maneuver' on Jubilee and Ray; the law suit is still pending from last time."

"I think we should all just pray that Rahne and Sam didn't play another round of 'pig in the pokey.'" Ororo said, as all three of them shared a unanimous shudder.

"Hurry, bring him up to the front!" They heard Warren shout.

"Kids, how bad is it?" Hank called to the children, hastening his pace.

"Really bad!" A voice they recognized as Bobby replied.

"How bad is 'really bad?'" Ororo asked.

"Really, really, really, really, really, _really_ bad!" A voice they knew belonged to Jubilee answered.

"Oh dear. Charles, what should we be expecting?" Ororo queried.

"Hmm." Charles extended his thoughts to reach out to the nearby students. What he discovered was not in any way remotely what he expected. In fact, his discovery was so astonishing that it caused him to stop his wheelchair right in its tracks with a stunned look on his face. "Good Lord." He uttered.

"Charles? What-" Hank stopped speaking when the children finally came bounding out of the trees. It was the sight that first greeted the usually calm and collected teachers that caused them to become as petrified as stone. The students, however, seemed to understand the shock that overcame their mentors and allowed them the time required to let said-shock set in. It was Ms. Munroe who finally vocalized their collective thoughts.

"Good God, Logan, what on Earth happened to you?!"  
Leading the way for the pack of youngsters was Piotr carrying Logan, bridal style. At first, the teachers found it curious that Piotr was maintaining his metallic form. The questions forming in their minds (well, a _few_ of them) stopped when they got a closer glimpse of the man they used to call the unstoppable Wolverine. Logan was covered from scalp to toes in angry protruding bee-stings, furious red fire-ant bites, and a very itchy looking rash. He was loosely wrapped in the remains of what they could guess were once Logan's jeans; they were situated strategically to protect his modesty as well as protect Piotr from the rash. Logan's neck was so limp that he could only manage to gaze upward with a hazed look in his eyes, and his mouth hanging open, allowing a string of drool to hang out of one corner. As soon as Hank was close enough, he began snapping his fingers in front of Logan's eyes to establish consciousness. "Logan! Logan, can you hear me? Speak to me!"

"Logan, say something!" Ororo begged. "What happened?" Logan began to quietly mutter something that they could not quite make out. "What did you say? I can't hear you!" His speech was just a decimal louder, but still he remained incoherent. "Logan, speak up!"

"-_Now that it's raining more than ever_, _know that we'll still have each other_. _You can stand under my umbrella_, _you can stand under my umbrella_, -_ella­_, -_ella_." Hank and Ororo looked at each other.

"Well, I'm not prepared to rule out a concussion." Hank stated.

Ororo pulled Jamie in front of her, and looking him dead in the eye, asked, "Jamie, can you tell me what happened to Logan? Is he all right?"

"Yeah, of course!" The boy quickly replied with much enthusiasm.

Jamie actually stopped to think for a second when he heard Mr. Logan sing, "_It's raining_, _ooh baby it's raining_."

Then Jamie added, "Well… maybe."

"What happened to him, Jamie?" Hank asked impatiently, as he checked Logan's pupil response with a small flashlight.

"Well, after a beehive fell on his head and he sat pants-less on top of a fire-ant hill, he was mauled by a pack of amorous beavers and fell off of a mountain top only to land naked in a patch of poison ivy." Jamie then shrugged breezily. "Other than that, he's fine."

Hank, Ororo, and Charles looked at one another with eyes wide as Logan sang, "_When the sun shines_, _we'll shine together_, _told you I'll be here forever_. _Said I'll always be your friend_, _took an oath_, _I'll stick it out to the end_."

Then Hank smiled and clapped his large furry hands together. "Okay, kids," he said, "which one of you lucky ducks wants to learn the proper way to apply calamine lotion?" Hank still retained his hopeful grin as the kids looked at one another before shaking their heads, muttering as they went towards their respective tents for the night. Hank's face fell and he looked back at Ororo and Charles with a sigh. "Piotr, can you carry him over to the tent for me?"

The large Russian looked to the heavens and sighed, "Always me." But he followed the three adults obediently nonetheless.

"_You can run into my arms_, _it's okay_, _don't be alarmed_. _Come into me_, _there's no distance in between our love_."

Ororo looked at Logan pityingly as he continued to serenade them in a concussion-induced daze. "Hank, will he be all right?"

Hank looked questioningly at their usually unflappable comrade, who was presently well flapped. "He got worked over pretty hard today. I'll patch him up as best as I can tonight and then let his healing powers take care of the rest. He should at least be feeling better in the morning."

Ororo shook her head as Hank set up a makeshift stretcher out of two extra car tables. "It's almost impossible to believe that so many misfortunes could befall Logan during the period of one day. I mean, talk about your bad luck!" Ororo briefly left Charles' side to help Hank and Piotr with Logan.

The telepathic headmaster looked out at the forest where the students had earlier emerged. With his eyes narrowed, he asked no one in particular, "Yes… but _would_ you call it bad luck… or something else entirely?"

"_So go on and let the rain pour_, _I'll be all you need and more_…"

Charles rolled his eyes and then rolled towards the tent. "Coming Logan!"

XXX

Amara had already situated herself inside of her tent. Rahne was taking her time saying goodnight to Sam and Jamie. After making sure that Jamie was tucked safely into his tent, Sam offered to walk Rahne back to her own lodgings. The petite redhead could not miss the thoughtful appearance that masked Sam's face. "Something on your mind, country boy?"

"Hmm?" Sam was clearly surprised to be pulled from his thoughts so suddenly. "Oh, Ah was just thinkin' 'bout…" Choosing not to even bother finishing his sentence, Sam nodded back towards where Logan was situated.

"Oh yeah." Rahne nodded. "Crazy day, huh?"

"Yeah, that's one way of puttin' it." Sam chuckled tiredly. "Ah was just thinkin' 'bout how Mr. Logan has gone up against Sabretooth and come out on top. Not to mention the Punisher. He even survived a fight with the Hulk!" The Kentucky native shook his head with amazement and awe in his eyes. "But when it comes down to the Wolverine versus Mother Nature… there is but one victor."

"Wow." Rahne said in a monotone. She smiled at him with a giggle in her eyes. "That's deep, Sam."

Sam grinned widely at the cute Scottish girl as he loosely slung his arm around her petite shoulders. "Ah have mah moments."

They both were laughing as Rahne opened the flap to the tent she shared with Amara and kissed Sam on the cheek goodnight before zipping herself up inside. Neither teen noticed their audience consisting of Jubilee and Tabitha who both stood in front of their own tent.

"Ugh, teen romance. It's running amok today." Tabitha said, sticking out her stud pierced tongue as she mock-gagged herself with her index finger.

"Careful, Tabitha. That sort of thing is contagious." Jubilee replied, looking at the next tent over. "I bet Rogue and Kitty had an easy day today."

"I know, right? Hanging out at camp all day with Remy and Kurt and _not _forced to watch Mr. Logan have his ass handed to him by a horde of woodland animals? I'd have 'gotten lost' too." Tabitha used her fingers to put quotes around her words.

"Yeah." Jubilee looked at the tent belonging to Rogue and Kitty. It was dark inside, sealed up tight, and completely still. "God, they've probably been asleep for hours. Lazy cunts."

"Okay, now you're just pissed because Rogue will always be Remy's first pick!" Tabitha laughed as she stepped into their tent.

Jubilee shook her head as she followed Tabitha inside. "Does she even know what a blowjob is?"

"Ssh. She's right next to us. She'll hear you."

XXX

Piotr very drowsily (and quite clumsily) opened the flap to his tent. Not at all gracefully he fell on top of his sleeping bag, not even bothering to tuck himself in. "Will these children ever learn to be… useful?" He asked hopelessly.

He rolled onto his back with a deep groan. It was when he was working out the kinks in his neck that he noticed… he was alone. However, he was not all that surprised. "There's no telling what that Cajun has gotten himself into now." With a sigh, he closed his eyes, unable to fight the overwhelming exhaustion that overcame his body. "I just hope he can handle her."

XXX

Jamie had just finished changing into his footie-pajamas and was tucking himself into his sleeping bag when he noticed something: Kurt was not there.

"Hmm. Peculiar. Maybe I should go tell a grown-up." He said aloud.

"Oh, come on. He's probably off getting mushy with a girl or having a slumber party… you're not invited to, clearly." His double that he had accidentally created upon sitting down said.

Jamie (the real Jamie) conceded with a nod. "You're probably right. He didn't tell me last night that he was going out; I guess he didn't feel a need to tell me tonight either."

The other Jamie nodded in agreement. "Just go to bed. He'll be back in the morning."

"You're right." The original Jamie replied as he lied down to sleep. He smiled happily as he said, "Just wait until I tell him about the day that we've had!"

The other Jamie also lit up brightly. "I know! I can't wait to see his face when he hears that he missed out on all of the fun, adventure, and excitement that we had!"

Real Jamie shut his eyes to sleep but still smiled as he said, "Yeah, there's no way anything he did today was nearly as cool, exciting, and dangerous as our day!"

XXX

Hmm. I'm not dead… but I don't feel much alive either. But I'm not craving brains, so does that rule out zombie? Well, either way: I'm baaaaccckk! I'll keep this short since everyone who has finished reading this probably has a brain as fried as mine right now. This latter half of chapter five is ninety-one pages, double-spaced on Word (no, you didn't read that wrong; I did say 'ninety-one'). Combined with the first seventy-five pages that made up vol. one of chapter five, and collectively this chapter in its entirety is one-hundred-and-sixty-six pages. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that's a _Harry Potter_ book. Hell, I'm pretty sure that after this whole thing is finished that it might surpass the entire _Harry Potter_ saga in terms of length.

_Wait_. _Did she just say she wants to finish this "whole thing?"_

Yes, I did say that. When a lot of you choose to review (which I strongly encourage everyone who reads this and has something to say to do), your reviews consist of things like this: "Where's the next update?" "Update now!" "Please update" "Update or die!" "Are you ever going to update?" "Have you quit updating this story?" Though I love that y'all have such enthusiasm for my little story, constantly being reminded that I take freakin'-forever to post chapters. This is something that I know all too well, but please give me a break. Each chapter is more or less the size of a novella, and those take a while to write. However, a lot of you have responded saying that you like the really-really-_really_ long lengthy chapters. I like them too, so I don't want to stop writing them this way. So to all those readers who are very, very tempted to hit that review button and type " update " or something along those lines, I have this to say: DON'T!! If for some unknown reason I decide to quit writing this story (medical lobotomy, fingers cut off in a bizarre hacksaw accident, I'm suddenly stranded in the icy tundra without my journal or computer), I will let you all know. Really, I will. I let you know when I was having problems with my computer a while back, didn't I? As long as that never happens, assume that I'm working on the next phase of this story as best as my life permits. Seeing as how I'm now graduated from college and I have completed one of two surgical procedures, I have some free time to write and I will not even allow myself a break from writing between this chapter and the next. Speaking of the next… the following three chapters are going to take place rather sequentially together. So, since I wrote this chapter _Kill Bill _style (release one half, and then finish the second half later), I'm going to write the next three chapters _Lord of the Rings _style. As in, I'm going to finish all three of them before I post anything. Now before anyone suggests that I might die from old age before I finish _three_ chapters before posting, let me say this: the next three are not planned to be that long. Really, I imagine that all three of them combined will be about the length of one of the shorter earlier chapters (definitely not Prologue short, though). This way, when I'm finally ready to publish all three of them, I can hold the next one hostage until every reader has given in to my demand for lots and lots of reviews, muahahaha. Anyway, I'm about to close here (this wasn't short, was it?), so before I get into my little preview for the next chapter, I'd like to take a moment and acknowledge some particularly awesome readers (not that all of you aren't awesome; these guys are just extra, super-duper, awesome). I am speaking, of course , of the readers who have enjoyed this story enough to actually want to immortalize some of its more memorable moments in illustration. That's right, this story now has illustrations. And I am completely loving seeing their takes on scenes that I have only seen in my head. If I may encourage all of you to check out the gallery of eyez409 at eyez409./; she's an amazing artist and just a cool person all around and presently she has done two illustrations for RRDC, though she says that there might be a third on the way. She's also an awesome reviewer, though on here she also goes under the name keyko101. There are also a few more readers who have emailed me asking me for permission to do some pieces for this story (like they had to ask me!). They know who they are and I am eagerly awaiting to see their finished work. But if anyone else gets a creative buzz to illustrate scenes, characters, or any other hoopla from this story, I most certainly encourage you to act on it (and send me the results!). Now about the next three or so chapters, I have to warn all of you that they will tonally be dramatically different to what has come before: think darker, scarier, less laughy… well, maybe some laughy. It's unnatural to write Matilda without laughy. Just to give you an idea of what that entails, here's a little (and I put emphasis on _little_) taste:

"You cannot win this battle. I am destined to be immortal."

XXX

"Oh mah God. Y'all, where's Kitty?"

XXX

"No. Guess at de end o' de day no one really needs a hero."

"Yeah… but Ah imagine a hero sure would be nice to have sometimes."

Happy reading. See you all… someday.


	8. A Tidbit of Chapter Six

A/N: I know that it has been ages since I last posted; unfortunately, life has gotten in the way of my fanfiction writing time once again, as lately I have been more focused on my career as a writer as well as attempting to get into to grad school. But I haven't forgotten about this fic. I'm trying to gauge whether or not people still care about this story, so I'm posting a small (but juicy!) part of the next chapter. I hope that this goes a long way in earning forgiveness from my readers. Enjoy!

Rogue ached all over. She wanted nothing more than to roll over in bed once more and fall asleep, but her discomfort would not allow her to do so. Wait… _bed_? Rogue stirred and rose up realizing that she was indeed lying in bed… in the middle of the woods.

"Last Ah checked we did **not** pack a Queen-sized, brass bed in our provisions." She said to no one but herself. It was an unusual sight: a lovely antique brass bed sitting smack-dab in the middle of a grassy clearing in the woods with nothing but tall, stately trees surrounding her.

The bed was not the only thing foreign to Rogue; she clearly remembered falling asleep wearing every article of clothing she had on her back, but now she wore a beautiful cotton and lace white nightgown that felt impossibly soft against her skin. She sat up straighter in the bed and pushed the fluffy white comforter that had been keeping her warm aside. She had just swung her legs over the side of the bed and her bare feet had just touched the soft, dewy grass when suddenly she retracted them with a wince. Something sharp and jagged had just pushed against her vulnerable skin.

Confused, Rogue peered over the side of the bed, now on all fours. An amazing sight greeted her: growing at an impossibly rapid rate, were dozens upon dozens of thorny vines. At first she was frightened, fearing that they would inevitably harm her. She relaxed and even allowed joy to wash over her when she saw the end of each thorny vine blossom into a perfect red rose. It was only a few minutes before a sea of wild roses surrounded the bed Rogue laid upon.

Rogue allowed a bittersweet smile to grace her lips at the fragrant and beautiful world surrounding her. Still smiling as she rolled her eyes, she stated, "Ah'm… Ah'm dreamin', aren't Ah?"

"Oui, Ah'd say so."

Rogue did not look surprised as she turned to the source of the voice that just suddenly appeared. He was there, of course, leaning over the back of the bed's headboard on his forearms. He looked arrogant and far too beautiful as his red and black eyes raked over her scarcely covered body with a smirk adorning his face. He was not wearing much himself: just his jeans and nothing else. Not that his lack of proper dress mattered much; he was born to go shirtless.

"You were born to go shirtless, you know that?"

That smirk of his stretched into a smile that better suited a wolf. "Correction, petite." And then he was above her, hovering over her lace and cotton covered body with a goal in mind. Rogue had laid flat on her back, her head upon the soft pillows and arms held back in surrender. She did not dare argue that she was as good as conquered at this point. "Ah was born wearin' nothin' at all."

His head had just ducked to have a taste of her exposed creamy neck when suddenly a very loud, pronounced * AHEM * broke through the tension. Neither of them had been expecting this interruption and both looked appropriately surprised at the source of the sound.

Standing just outside of the perimeter of the roses was a very cross-looking Remy LeBeau, also wearing nothing but his jeans. With both hands placed powerfully on his hips, his eyes flared in annoyance at his double. "Just what do y' think y' are doin' wit dat poor, defenseless, innocent girl?"

"Moi?" He replied, sitting up. "Ah'm just doin' what y' don't have de **balls **t' do half de damn time."

Remy never wavered in his stance. "Somethin' Ah tend t' rectify immediately." He roughly jerked in the other direction with his thumb. "Now **scoot**."

He rolled his eyes and suddenly was behind the headboard again. "Fine." He turned to leave, and was almost out of sight when he turned and asked, "Y' won't even consider de ménage à trois possibilities?"

Remy looked tense and annoyed when he punctuated through gritted teeth, "_**Git**_." And he was gone, leaving Rogue alone with Remy.

"Well…" Rogue finally said after a moment of palpable silence. "… if Ah didn't think Ah was havin' a dream before, Ah **know** it now." Remy looked at her with the question in his eyes. "The world just isn't big enough to handle **two **Remy LeBeau's."

Remy laughed a little and said, "Too true." He looked around, admiring his surroundings before his eyes finally settled on Rogue. "Though, for a dream, dis ain't so bad." His eyes raked possessively over her body and she blushed and tried to cover herself with the crumpled comforter.

Remy smiled at her actions and then began to figure a way around those roses to get to the bed. It was apparently a harder task than he had first imagined as he stumbled quite awkwardly as he tried to cross over the mass of roses in a few long strides. Apparently, he overcompensated the distance somewhat and less than gracefully wound up in an unceremonious heap on his back atop of the bed. Quickly recuperating, he turned onto his side and forced a grin at his companion as he placed his head upon his propped up hand. He was confused by the startled expression on Rogue's face at his not-so-perfect entrance and his grin faded in concern. "What? What's de matter?"

"Ah'm… Ah'm dreamin', right?"

Remy looked around at the serene woods lit by only the most majestic sunlight, the far-too-perfect roses that formed a far-too-perfect ring around them, and, of course, at the lovely antique brass bed that they both laid upon. "Oui, Ah'd say dat dis is a dream."

"But you're…" Rogue pulled her legs up to her chest as she sat upright and wrapped her arms around them defensively. "… You're not a dream, are you?"

Remy looked down at his undressed form and briefly ran his hands over the skin on his stomach. It did not feel real; it felt like silk and the tingly feeling of feet falling asleep, but nothing like real skin. But Remy LeBeau knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was real and that Rogue was real and that they were both there together. "Non, cherie. Ah'm not a dream." Remy then crawled slowly on all fours over to where she sat. He drew his face uncomfortably close to hers until the hairs of their eyebrows almost intermingled. Without warning, he raised his right index finger up and tapped her quickly on the tip of her nose. "And neither are you."

Quickly, Rogue spun around, still holding her legs to her chest, until her back was to him and she was almost resting atop of the pillows. "Are you… are you some kind of remnant of Remy's psyche that's decided to come out and play inside mah head?"

Neither of them could see the other's faces at that moment. Rogue did not see Remy roll his eyes at Rogue's statement; Remy did not see Rogue hardening her face for disappointment. "Y're thinkin' too small, chere."

"But you're not real. Ah **know** you're not real." Rogue replied, firmly.

"Y' want t' know what's real, Rogue?" Remy raised himself up to his knees and crawled forward until he was right behind the beautiful young woman, towering over her seated form. "De reality is dat right now we're both still asleep and we're both still lost." He leaned forward slightly until his nose and lips came into contact with her loose hair. "What's real is dat it stopped rainin' 'bout an hour ago." His hands raised up until his fingertips lightly brushed the bare skin on her shoulders. "Y're lyin' on top of m'." His groin pressed pronouncedly into the short cotton skirt of her nightgown and she held back a whimper. "Y'r head's layin' right on top of mah chest." His fingers began to play with the flimsy straps of her nightgown that were keeping her decent. "Ah can smell y'r hair." He inhaled the scent of her hair deeply as though to make a point. "And Ah'm warm everywhere y'r touchin' m'." He drew her closer into him by her shoulders and she did not fight him. "Can y' hear mah heartbeat, mon chere?" He whispered right into her ear.

Rogue had her eyes closed. "No." She whispered and opened her shining eyes. "But Ah can feel it."

Remy allowed his own eyes to slide shut and his fingers, almost acting of their own accord, began to lightly tug on the straps of her nightgown only until they reached the slopes of her shoulders before he allowed gravity to take them halfway down her arms. He explored her newly exposed skin with his palms and fingertips, desperately willing and wishing his sense of touch to feel like Rogue's warm flesh really was filling up his hands. There was no way Rogue could keep her eyes open. Her eyes had slipped shut and her head slumped forward slightly as she tried to revel in the false feeling of his touch. His groin pressed firmer against her bottom again, pushing the skirt of her nightgown up a little higher just as his hands began to stroke her front, tracing the length of her collarbone, his mouth taking his hands' place on her shoulders.

Rogue needed to speak. "Remy, it doesn't- it's not-"

Remy paused in his ministrations. He did not tell her that he feared what words would next come out of her mouth. "'It's not' what?"

Rogue breathed before speaking. "It's not real. It doesn't feel real." It was a blessing in disguise that neither of them could see the defeated cloud in both of their eyes.

"Ah know. It is just a dream after all." Rogue's eyes closed and she could not stop the anguish that once more washed over her. Anguish that was quickly replaced by shock, fear, and arousal when she felt Remy once more press firmly against her backside and pull her by the shoulders slightly around so that she could face him. He had a shadow of a smile on his face and a hungry look in his eyes. "But Ah did say dat Ah would take what Ah can get."

Rogue had never in her life felt more small and helpless as he hitched his arm around her waist and slipped his other arm underneath her knees, effectively scooping her into his arms only a short distance from the bed's mattress… and she **loved** it and that scared her like nothing else had before. Her arms went around his neck in response, but it seemed somewhat in vain as he almost immediately began to lay her back down. His arms slipped out from underneath her legs first, making sure that her soft, white legs were stretched out comfortably. Before he fully allowed her upper body to lie upon the bed, he maneuvered his now free hand to the back of her head as he gently and slowly lowered her to rest upon the pillows, practically cradling her like a precious, irreplaceable, rare, and adored object. Rogue still had her arms around him as he lay down on top of her, crumpling her nightgown against him. He looked straight into her eyes and her arms slid away from him, once more lying beside her head as though she was surrendering. He became concerned and confused when she turned her head to duck her face into a nearby pillow. He waited for her to speak and was rewarded after a moment.

"Ah'm afraid." She whispered into the pillow. He gently turned her by her chin to face him. She looked genuinely scared and vulnerable as she looked back into his eyes. "Remy, Ah'm afraid." She whispered once more.

Remy considered that for a moment, not meeting her eyes. When he looked at her once more, she was shocked to see his own kind of vulnerability (well, as much as he was capable of) present. He breathed a brief laugh and looked at her. "Rogue, Ah'm terrified." She must have looked shocked at his statement because he laughed before looking amazed at his own vulnerability once more. "Don't y' see dat? Ah have never been more terrified in mah life." Rogue looked at him sympathetically and they rested their foreheads against each other, closing their eyes to try and soak up whatever feeling they could muster. He opened his eyes before she opened hers and looked at her for a moment. She opened her eyes to look at him when he spoke. "Fact is… dere's only one thing dat scares me more."

Rogue's hand was on his cheek and Remy's knee was between her legs pushing the skirt of her nightgown further up her thighs. "What scares you more, Remy?"

He could not answer that question and both of them knew that. Instead both of his hands resumed playing with the straps of her nightgown, sliding them down her arms until she was practically wearing a strapless dress. Her hands moved over his bare chest and shoulders, repeatedly sliding across his heart; she wished she could feel it pound against her palm, but she couldn't. His lips had begun their descent down towards hers when suddenly she turned and ducked her head into a pillow again.

"Don't." She said before he could speak. "Please, don't do that." The question remained in his eyes and she answered it. "If you do that, then that makes this real. And Ah'm not ready…." She thought about how to phrase what she wanted to say very carefully. "…Ah'm not ready to go back to reality just yet."

His small smile told her that he understood. She placed her trust in him as he descended to her face once more, but he did not go for her lips. Instead his head lowered past her face and stopped when he reached her ear. Very gently, he placed a small kiss on the stretch of skin just behind her perfect ear. Rogue gasped; it felt good enough, even though it still did not feel like the real thing. Remy's head moved around and planted a kiss at the base of her neck. He let his lips drag along the milky white column of her skin until he reached her chin. When he reached her face, he allowed his lips to brush over her face, even briefly crossing over her lips, before he placed two distinct and palpable kisses on both of her cheeks. She shut her eyes to try and revel in the feelings as best as she could as he placed one final kiss in the center of her forehead.

Remy pulled back and was looking at her until she looked at him when she noticed his extended absence. When he had her attention, he raised his index and middle finger and placed them right on top of his Adam's apple. She understood, raised her head up and replaced his fingers with her full, soft lips in a perfect kiss. He closed his eyes and trusted her and next indicated his right ear. She raised up once more and gently suckled his ear with her tongue and teeth and he began to pant a good bit. She looked back at him and he pointed at one of his closed eyes and then the other one. She pressed a sweet kiss against one of his eyelids and then repeated the gesture with the other.

Rogue's arms were around his neck again and his arms were around her back, cradling her to him until there was nothing between them. As she lowered her head back to her pillow, Remy pulled her tighter against him, in turn bringing his face closer to hers. Her leg drew up slightly, her bare skin brushing against the rough denim that covered his lower half; this also caused his thigh to become further wedged between her legs. Rogue was exploring his naked collarbone and bare shoulders as Remy repeatedly nuzzled at her neck and scrunched the lacy fabric of the back of her nightgown into his fists. And then suddenly, she felt a chuckle erupt from his mouth right up against her skin.

"What?" Rogue entangled her fingers within his wavy cinnamon locks. "What's so funny?" Rogue became concerned when he did not meet her eyes, but continued to laugh into her neck. "Did Ah do something wrong?"

Remy's laughter stopped at the worried tone in her voice, and rose up to look into her eyes with a serious and admiring mask on his face. "Rogue, y're _**perfect**_." He shook his head in reverence at her. "Don't y' dare ever doubt y'rself."

Rogue turned a little pink. "Then why were you…?"

Remy chuckled briefly. "Ah was just thinkin' 'bout somethin' stupid."

Rogue drew her arms around his neck again and he found this very distracting. "Stupid like what?"

Remy drew down a little closer to her and smiled. "Tellin' y' means Ah have t' confess t' likin' country music."

Rogue smiled brightly and Remy's heart stopped. "Somethin' no Southerner ever wants to admit, trust meh." Rogue rolled her eyes back dramatically and pulled Remy's face closer to hers. "Ah like country music too, Remy. There. We've both been outed. Now will you please tell meh your 'somethin' stupid?'"

Remy smiled brightly and Rogue's heart stopped. "Ah was just thinkin' 'bout dis song dat's kind of reminiscent of dis situation."

Suddenly serious, Rogue asked, "How does it go?"

Remy shut his eyes and dropped his head backwards briefly before looking her in the eye once more. He smiled slightly and then dipped until his mouth was right at her ear. "_Why don't you stay with me_? _Share all your secrets tonight_." Good Lord, he was really singing to her. His voice was rich, deep where it should be deep, and high where it should be high. "_We can make believe the morning sun never will rise_." She could listen to him sing until the day she died. "_Come and lay your head-_"

She smiled and joined him and they both sang, "-_On this big brass bed_."

He looked into her eyes with a look in his eyes as he sung, "_And we'll be all right as long as you stay with me_."

Rogue sobered immediately and Remy's hands began to move down to the end of her nightgown. Her face was immediately tinged with pink as his hands slowly pulled at the hem of her skirt up her thighs, over the apex of her legs, and finally allowed it to settle right above her bellybutton. Rogue's face was a bright shade of red with the knowledge that all he had to do was look down and he could potentially see all of her exposed lower half. But he didn't. He kept his red eyes fixed on her green eyes and stroked her with his fingertips from her hair, across her cheek, before lightly tracing the shape of her lips. Rogue, meanwhile, ran her hands down his chest, across his nipples, over the ripples of his abdomen, around his bellybutton, before arriving at the top of the closure to his jeans. Wisely realizing that she was too inexperienced to keep looking in his eyes while doing this, she looked down at her hands as she unbuttoned the top button and pulled down his jeans' zipper. Even with his pants open, all she could manage to see were the beginnings of wiry, dark brown hair that the treasure trail on his belly led into, but vanished all the same into the confines of his pants. She did not realize that he had been watching her intently since he first felt her hands below his navel.

Tentatively, Rogue traced her hands along the skin just above the top of his pants until she reached the sides of his hips where she hooked her fingers into his jeans. She was ready to pull them down when she felt his hands on her wrists pulling them away from his lower body and up until they high above her head leaving her stretched pleasantly for his viewing. He shook his head slightly. "Not yet."

His hands moved to the very front of her nightgown and his fingers hooked into the front of her bodice. The straps of the garment dangled loosely at her sides and Rogue inhaled sharply knowing what he was about to do. Hearing her audible breath, Remy looked at the beautiful young woman in his arms. Testing her waters, he began to inch the front of her nightgown down over the expanse of her cleavage. He was just above the utmost peaks of Rogue's breasts when her hands reached out and latched onto his wrist, pausing his descent.

Remy looked at her concernedly. "Rogue?"

"Ah'm sorry." She looked regretfully at him. "Ah am sorry. It's just… this is all so new to meh and Ah'm not-" Rogue tucked her chin into her shoulder as far as she could manage. "God, this is embarrassing."

"Rogue." Remy murmured tenderly.

"Ah'm not as experienced as you are-"

"Rogue." He repeated more pointedly.

"-and Ah'm not used to this. Ah'm not used to feeling this way and it's happening so quick and-"

"Rogue, it's all right." Remy placed a kiss beneath her nose, so close to her lips.

"It's **not **all right, and Ah'm sorry that Ah'm being stupid when you're being perfect-"

"Ssh." His nose nuzzled up along the side of her nose. "Don't talk like dat. Ah understand, petite. Lord knows, Ah understand." He raised his head slightly and tried to smell the breath that was coming out of her mouth in small pants. "Dis is y'r dream, after all. Y're de one calling all de shots. Ah won't do anythin' dat y' don't want m' t' do."

Rogue looked into his eyes then and trusted him. "Is that just a line?"

"Mean dat from de bottom of m' heart, cherie." Remy said too sober for it to be anything other than a truth.

With her thumb, Rogue traced each of his fingers on his hand that she held. "What do you want with meh, Remy?"

"Right now?" She nodded. He had a small and mysterious smile on his face as he traced the line that was the top of the bodice on her nightgown. He looked back at her so hungrily yet tenderly that she was sure that someone more faint-hearted would have passed out. "Ah just want t' look at y'."

It didn't matter that it was not real; there was no mistaking that she really was becoming moist between her legs when he said that. She replaced his hand at the top of the bodice. "Go slow and distract meh, okay?"

That trademark Remy grin appeared just before he leaned up to her, his mouth just above her mouth. "Think Ah can manage dat."

A moment passed where they both took a breath and then Remy was kissing her all over her face. Across her eyebrows, on her eyelids, over her forehead, down her cheeks, upon her ears, his lips were determined to blanket any part of her face he could reach with kisses… except, of course, the part he wanted most of all. All the while his hands were covertly pushing her nightgown down her chest. When the top of it joined with the skirt right at her waist, Rogue began to whimper under his caresses. She had never been this exposed to anyone in her entire life. Between the kisses he continued to plant, Remy whispered, "It's okay" as though they were an answer to Rogue's whimpers. She began to tremble when he began to kiss his way down her neck and it did not go unnoticed by Remy. He ran his hands down her arms and over her legs as though he was soothing a skittish animal.

Her fingernails dug into the back of his shoulders when he took his time lavishing her collarbone with kisses. Rogue went back and forth between clutching the comforter on the bed and tangling her fingers inescapably in Remy's hair. Daring her trust, Remy's hands traveled up the expanse of her legs, briefly felt the dark triangle of curls at her center, before moving up her belly, until he felt the beginning of the swell of her breasts connect with his hands. His mouth began to move downwards once more just as both of his hands discovered handfuls of her ample bosom.

She was shocked at how gentle he was being with her. His hands were not at all rough as they explored the expanses of her flesh. She was not sure how much she liked this; there was no way she wanted him to think of her as fragile.

"Remy, you can-" She had to pause to allow for a gasp when his lips finally found their way to the beginning of the swell of her breast. She could not control the manner in which her fingernails ran over the back of his neck. Remy paused in his attentions to her chest: memory told him that he was particularly sensitive where Rogue had just scratched recklessly and he had to groan. Momentarily he removed his hands from her breasts to move her hands down to his shoulders, where he very much enjoyed the sensations brought about by women's fingernails. Newly inflamed, he lowered his head once more.

Rogue quite literally screamed when his mouth found her left nipple. Her head fell backwards on her pillow and shut her eyes tight. He began gently, kissing her nipple and licking her areola. Feeling her push her chest up towards his mouth made him smile around her breast and suckle harder.

She grunted; she willed herself to raise her head and look at him and what he was doing to her. His eyes were closed and his cheeks were hollowed. He looked at her suddenly, seeing her watching him. He smiled at her and then moved his mouth to her other breast, keeping his eyes on her face all the while.

Rogue focused on the feelings in her belly; she was so close to feeling _real _pleasure flutter in her stomach. If he could only do more. "Remy…" She panted. "You… you can go harder… if you want."

He looked at her face and then she felt his teeth lightly rake over the tip of her breast. She inhaled sharply and felt herself become damper, squirming as she rubbed her legs together. He continued biting at both of her breasts, each one become more sensitive with each nibble, and incoherent gasps, pants, and helpless whimpers being all that Rogue could pull from her mouth.

Still continuing to pleasure her, Remy moved his hands from her waist to her hips. One hand began feeling her backside while the other brushed through the patch of curls forming a triangle between her legs. Her eyes opened. His fingers moved lower and began to part her nether lips. He was about to slip a finger inside of her when she stopped him by taking hold of his wrist. He released her breast from his mouth and moved his hands away from her lower extremities. Stroking her shoulders gently, he smiled at her tenderly. "Not yet?"

Rogue shut her eyes and blushed. "Why are you so good to meh?"

Remy chuckled and nuzzled the bridge of his nose alongside hers. "If Ah have any virtues, petite, it's patience."

"Ah mean, God, you'd think Ah would be more than ready for a situation like this, given the reality of mah situation, but here Ah am acting like a schoolgirl stereotype-"

"Rogue, listen to m'." She was caught off-guard by the serious tone in his voice. "Whether Ah show it or not, dis is overwhelmin' t' m' too." He began stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Dere is **nothin**' wrong wit' y' or de way y' feel right now." He stopped his caresses and looked guilty. "An' Ah'm sorry if Ah'm pushin' y' too fast."

And Rogue felt bad. "God, Remy, you are not the problem. Not by a long shot." She began to run her hands through his hair and stroke them over his face.

Smiling and turning his face towards her caresses, Remy rolled himself onto his side so that his head was resting on the pillow, though he never lost contact with Rogue's hands. He was running the tips of his fingers over the skin on her forearm when he smiled. "We make quite de pair on dis brass bed, don't we?"

Rogue smiled and ran her hands over the stubble on his jaw to see if it felt like stubble. "Ah'm sure there are many other much more creative uses to a bed like this than what we've come up with." She looked at him thoughtfully. "Ah have to say that you've impressed meh though. Ah mean Ah've been nearly naked for a while now, and you have yet to really look at meh. Are you waiting for an invitation?"

He shrugged. "Dis is your dream, chere, remember? Ah'm just de unbelievably sexy, Cajun guest star."

She granted him a courtesy laugh and then looked shy. "You _did_ say that you wanted to look at meh." Even though she was already flat on her back, Rogue pressed her body even further into the mattress as though hoping that it could somehow swallow her whole. "Well, Ah'm not going to stop you if you want to look."

He needed no further invitation. His eyes roamed unashamedly up and down the length of her body several times. She felt silly just laying there in nothing but the nightgown bunched up in a heap around her waist. The only time he touched her was when he allowed his hands to run up and down the perfect hourglass curve her hips and waist created, briefly fingering the fabric of her almost discarded nightgown between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes were lingering on her chest when his eyebrows furrowed ponderously. "Hmm."

"What?" Rogue asked, sounding uncertain and worried.

Her tone did not go unnoticed by Remy. "Oh nothin'." He moved his face closer to hers and gazed downwards at her breasts as he nuzzled his cheek against hers; his mouth was right next to her ear. "Though Ah must say dat Ah wholeheartedly stand by m' earlier statement." She gazed into his eyes, which was more than enough to ask the question. When he looked at her, the affection in his eyes was almost unbearable. "Y're _**perfect**_, cherie. In every way, y're just perfect."

Rogue was blushing but she did not look away. "Ah'm far from perfect, Remy."

He shook his head at her and ran his hand up her arm to rest at her shoulder. "Not t' me." His hand gripped her shoulder firmly and her hand rested right on top of his heart.

His face was coming closer to hers; his eyes were staring intently at her lips. He got close: very, _very_ close. But just as his lips were about to connect with hers, she tucked her chin to her chest and cast her eyes downward. When his nose bumped against her nose, he laughed at himself and planted a kiss on her wherever it was that his mouth had fallen, which happened to be the apple of her cheek. "Ah'm sorry." She mumbled.

"Don't be." Remy had to smile again when she looked at him with those wide beautiful eyes, the blush staining her pretty face was practically a permanent fixture by now. "Y're so cute, chere."

Rogue ducked her head and came back up cruelly laughing at herself. "They ought to put you up for sainthood, LeBeau, for being so patient for enduring mah stupid antics."

Remy's gaze directed at her was a hard one. "Don't do dat."

"Don't do what-"

"Don't put dat wall back up. We _**just**_broke it down."

She felt embarrassed and awkward. She wondered if it were even possible to rekindle the passion that had possessed them only moments ago. The hand he had stroking her hair aided this cause. She looked at him and guided his free hand to the top of one of her bare breasts. He accepted her invitation eagerly and gently cupped and molded her offered breast to his liking. He began nuzzling her neck with kisses and shifted his thigh until it was rubbing against her damp curls. She bit her lower lip and tossed her head back, making more of her neck available for his attentions. He kissed his way down her body and reacquainted himself with the way her nipples tasted against his tongue. She grunted and he moved his hands up to feel her face and neck. Not fully thinking, Rogue opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out when his thumb discovered her full lips. She drew the digit into her mouth, wrapping her perfect lips around it and fellating it.

Remy groaned into her breast, and then offered her each and every one of his other fingers to receive similar treatment. She happily obliged him and was amazed at how much she enjoyed making him feel good. Inspired, Rogue gently grazed her teeth along the length of his ring finger. He moaned louder than before but he never stopped his attentions being paid to her lovely bosom.

Remy felt her hands playing with his nipples and got an idea. A wonderful idea. He reluctantly freed his hands from the treatment being received from her sweet mouth, and he smiled when he saw her mouth briefly chase after his hands when he pulled them away from her pretty lips. He placed his hand, damp from the confines of her mouth, over one of her smaller hands on his chest and guided it towards her chest. Rogue looked at him confusedly as she watched him move both of their hands over the swells of her breasts, down her flat stomach, and through her damp curls right into her warmth.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, her nervousness evident.

Remy did not answer immediately, as he was slightly preoccupied with sitting up against the bed's headboard and pulling her up with him, her bare back against his naked chest, her head leaning back on his shoulder, their legs intertwined, her bottom pressing against his groin, and her body completely exposed for his viewing leisure. When he was certain that she was comfortably situated against him, he answered. "Ah want y' t' show m' how t' touch you."

Rogue blushed deeper than she ever had before, as she instantly knew what he was suggesting. "Uh… Ah'm pretty sure you know your way around down there already."

She felt him smile against the skin of her shoulder. "Don't play dumb, Roguey." With his hand still covering hers, he positioned her fingers right on top of her clit. "Ah want t' see how y' want t' be touched."

Rogue's face looked like as ripe as a strawberry with how red she had become. She craned her head to look at him. "Ah don't normally do that in front of other people."

Remy smiled sincerely at her and tightened the hold he had around her waist. "Ah'm not other people. It's just m', chere." He began to plant small kisses down the side of her face. "It's just m'."

She found it somewhat disturbing how difficult it was becoming for her to refuse him. Closing her eyes, Rogue moved her fingers downward and barely brushed over the beginnings of her womanhood. She did not make much noise; nothing more than a sharp breath taken in through her nose accompanied by a pronounced shudder. She knew Remy was watching her every movement from behind her shoulder.

He said nothing. She felt him move his hand from her wrist to cover her tiny hand, his fingers completely in line with hers. Pressing down just enough with both of their middle fingers, Rogue gasped loudly when Remy made sure that her clit was receiving a firmer touch. So gently that she was not even immediately aware that it was happening, he began moving both of their hands in a small, steady, back and forth motion.

Rogue's eyes flew open and looked at him, despite the distracting rushes of pleasure that were coursing through her. Remy looked into her eyes, and when he did, her gasping became quite more audible. His eyes were open fully and staring at her intently. When he looked at her this way, Rogue felt desired and it was possibly one of the better feelings she had ever experienced.

Shutting her mouth, she forcibly paused her hand. He stopped the motions immediately, worried that he might have hurt her somehow. He was surprised when she pulled her hand from its place underneath his, and with it firmly gripped his wrist. The pace of his breathing increased rapidly when she brought his index and middle fingers right to the front of her entrance, and left them there to do with her as he wished.

Remy had to swallow, his throat making an audible gulp upon feeling her offering. Rogue had turned her head enough so that she was able to pepper his jaw line with soft kisses, which he found pleasantly distracting. He was not so distracted, though, that he forgot exactly where his hand was. Very slowly, he slipped his middle finger just inside the start of her entrance.

An audible breath left Remy's mouth. Even through the haze of the dream, it took his breath away how tight she was. He gently pushed his finger further into her depths and Rogue whimpered a little. Her mouth was still pressed against his jaw, audibly panting against his skin. She was still moving her fingers rapidly against her clit when he began to move his finger within her in the manner that she thought she would never experience for herself. She felt her whole body begin to tighten and marveled that it was happening so fast; she had never been able to get so close to release so quickly before. The gratitude she felt towards Remy was almost as overwhelming as the feelings he was evoking within her. She wanted more than anything to make him feel this way.

"Remy…" She breathed, the motions of her hand coming to an abrupt halt. "Remy, stop."

Remy looked at her confusedly but he only slowed down the motions of his finger. Her face was flushed and the perspiration on her face seemingly made her glow. "Rogue, aren't y'… aren't y' close? Why d' y' want m' t' stop?"

She said nothing. She removed his hand from her private area and his concern grew. She maneuvered around so that she was facing him on her knees and held his face within both her hands. She was looking dead into his eyes. "The only way Ah want to come is if you're inside meh."

Remy's eyes grew wider and he swallowed. He said nothing as he quickly laid her down flat on her back, their eyes never breaking contact. He raised himself up, his eyes greedily taking in her flushed face and her gorgeous chest as it rose and fell with each rapid breath. Never removing his eyes from her, he hooked his fingers into the sides of his jeans and pushed them down to the middle of his thighs. He did not bother removing them the rest of the way, and he laid himself atop of Rogue, his hips cradled between her thighs. She never stopped looking at his face, not even to spare a glance at the expanse of skin he had exposed.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, her calves brushing over his smooth, firm buttocks. Her fingers trapped themselves in the waves of Remy's hair. He raised himself slightly onto his forearms, their eyes never severing the connection. He reached one hand down between their bodies and she felt him position himself at her entrance. They both made sounds in their throats at the contact of their most private areas touching for the first time. Their faces were so close, their small breaths breaking against the surface of the other's skin. Neither of them of moved. Remy's eyes spared a look down at her mouth and she knew what he was thinking about.

"Rogue." He said most solemnly. "Ah have t'…" He shook his head, swallowed, and looked her in the eye. "Before we do dis, Ah just just have t'-"

"Ah know, Remy." Rogue's eyes began to shine and she took a sharp breath in. "Ah want you to."

Remy allowed himself one satisfied smile before descending his mouth towards hers. Rogue arched her neck bringing her mouth closer to his. Even when there was still some distance between them, they could almost taste the other's lips. He raised his hips, ready to fill her for the first time, just as his mouth was about to connect with hers for the first time.

"KEETY!" The sudden shout broke through the silent reverie that had surrounded the two young people. Both Rogue and Remy looked around for the source of the noise, both looking shocked and frustrated. Very frustrated.

"Y' have got t' b' kiddin' m'." Remy growled angrily. He looked into Rogue's eyes. She looked helpless as the dark started to encroach their surroundings. The trees, the roses, the light, all began to fade into black. He tried in vain to seal their lips together, but she had already faded into darkness by the time his mouth had reached hers.


End file.
